


When Darkness Falls

by lovealways21



Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-11 20:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 39,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7907026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovealways21/pseuds/lovealways21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the wolves take someone the Mikaelsons care about, Hayley is captured by Klaus. Upon meeting Elijah, her situation does not seem so bad, but the closer Hayley gets to him the more her secret comes to light. She can't relinquish her feelings for him and so becomes plagued by guilt. If he found out, she could lose him. But if he didn't, she could lose herself. Haylijah AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an AU story that I thought up a while back and have been going back and forth on but I have decided to go ahead and post it to help get us all through this long hiatus as we wait for next year.
> 
> I've taken the liberty to switch a few things up from canon to make it work with this story. They're pretty easy to catch so they shouldn't confuse you when you come across them. If they do, let me know and I'll be sure to explain the changes.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters at times. I only own the plot...mostly.

Hayley knew that it was a bad idea from the moment it had first been brought up. Yet there she was standing in the middle of the woods at two something in the morning having just committed an act that would surely come back to bite her in the ass later. She had clearly lost her ever-loving mind. The wolves and vampires of New Orléans were already in the midst of a war over the city and now with what she'd just helped do...there was no doubt in her mind that things would only get much worse very soon. It was such a shame she'd already made the stupidest decision she could have made and would now have to live with the consequences, whatever they may be.

"A little help here, Andrea," a voice hissed breaking Hayley out of her thoughts.

Hayley turned around and growled. "Shut up, Oliver," she hissed at him. "And what the hell have I told you about calling me that? It's Hayley, not Andrea!"

Oliver shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Hayley scoffed and turned away from him, leaving him to deal with the situation by himself.

It was just her luck to be bethrothed to an asshole like him. If she didn't love and respect her parents as much as she did, she would've told them all to screw off and go to hell a long time ago. But unfortunately she did and even though she didn't like that they had set her up to be with Oliver, she wasn't going to argue with them...not unless she wanted to be disowned. Her parents were the king and queen of their pack which meant she was the pack princess, something she absolutely loathed...anyone who called her a princess learned very quickly not to ever do it again. As the pack "princess," she was expected to marry whoever her parents chose for her. Much to her dismay, they had chosen Oliver...the son of the other pack's King and Queen.

"Come get her damn legs," Oliver ordered, earning the finger from Hayley.

Hayley wanted nothing more than to kick his ass to the moon and back in that moment but she knew that they didn't have much time before all of the vampires in the city knew that something had happened. They'd know immediately that the wolves were responsible. But that was the plan from the get go. The wolves, minus Hayley, wanted the vampires to know that they'd been the culprits.

"I can't believe I am helping you do this." Hayley hissed as she reluctantly stomped over and helped pick up the body from the ground and carry it over to the back of the pickup truck. "I must have lost my damn mind."

"Not that you had one to begin with." Oliver laughed.

Hayley once again stuck her finger up at him. She wasn't even going to dignify that with a response. He could be such a child sometimes. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out what her parents saw in Oliver. Well other than the obvious reason why...who his parents were. But other than that, seriously what the hell were they thinking? Weren't parents supposed to want what was best for their children? If so, then her parents were far off because Oliver wasn't even close to good enough for her. Or anyone at all, for that matter. It seemed as if her parents didn't have her in mind when thinking this through.

If only she had someone else to live for. That was the main reason she didn't just pack up and leave New Orleans. No one wants to be alone in life and without her pack and the other wolves that's exactly what she'd be, alone. Therefore, whether she liked it or not she was stuck in a loveless engagement and soon to be marriage, but at least she wouldn't be alone for the rest of her life. Although, at times she often thought about how it would be nice to be alone especially if it meant she could get the hell away from Oliver in he process.

"Damn it! Stop drifting off into La la Land and help me. We do not have all damn night!" Oliver growled when Hayley accidentally let go of the legs she was holding and they fell to the forest floor with a loud thump.

"Keep it up and you're going be doing this by yourself!" Hayley warned him; she really wasn't up for dealing with his shit right now.

"If you would stop zoning out like an insane person, I would not have to act like that!" Oliver shot back.

"Me, the insane person here? Yeah, okay." Hayley rolled her eyes. "How about this? I'll stop zoning out after you stop being an ass!" Hayley yelled at him in a tone that dared him to say even one word back to her.

He wisely chose to keep his mouth shut and went back to the task at hand.

As Hayley helped load the body into the back of Oliver's truck, Hayley couldn't shake the feeling in her gut that she was going to end up regretting this. She did not know how, she just knew she would. Truth be told, she was not looking forward to when karma finally caught up with her. After all, karma could be quite a bitch when she wanted to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there you have it! The prologue!
> 
> Hayley and Elijah will be meeting in the next chapter!
> 
> In the meantime, be sure to let me know what you thought of the prologue! All thoughts and feedback are very much welcome and appreciated.


	2. The First Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I promised last chapter, this chapter contains the first meeting of Hayley and Elijah in this AU. Writing Haylijah in an AU setting truly gives me a whole lot of freedom to play around and try out many different scenarios with their characters. I hope you enjoy reading his as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own The Originals or anything associated with the show. I just like to play around with e characters at times. I mostly only own the story plot.

Hayley woke up with one of the worst headaches she'd ever experienced in her whole entire life. She couldn't remember what had caused her headache; it almost hurt too much to think. She laid there for a while before finally gaining enough control of her headache to open her eyes. The exact second she opened her eyes, her headache thankfully dissipated enough for it to no longer bother her.

As she sat up way too fast, in a way that strained her back and had her wincing in pain, she looked around and took in her surroundings. This was not her apartment. This was not her bedroom. Where the hell was she? Then it suddenly dawned on her what had happened. Her memories of the earlier events that transpired came back to her in a flash.

**~flashback~**

It had been a normal Saturday afternoon; she was passing the time until work, as a bartender, by binge watching her favorite show on Netflix in her apartment when there was a knock on the door. Thinking it was the Chinese food she'd ordered over the phone being delivered, she had bypassed looking through the peephole and opened the door without a second thought. Regret instantly took over her when she recognized the man at once, who was not the Chinese food delivery guy, at her door. Klaus Mikaelson. Her past actions had come back to haunt her after only mere days.

She tried to close the door on him, but was unable to do so and he somehow managed to get into the apartment. Hayley was baffled by that at first. But then she remembered that one of his sisters was a powerful witch who more than likely performed a crazy spell that abled him to get in without an invitation. It was just her luck for that to happen. She could already hear her mother now...

"I knew I never should have let you leave the bayou. The city is a much too dangerous place for a wolf in the midst of a wolf and vampire war."

Even when it's her fault any of it was happening in the first place. If Hayley's parents hadn't insisted on doing what they did, Hayley would have been fine in the city. She would've been just as fine and safe as she had been living in the city for the past five years.

Hayley would blame her mother for this happening to her. That was yet another thing to add to the growing list of things to blame her mother for.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in?!" Hayley asked Klaus as she put as much distance between herself and him.

Klaus smirked at her. "I'm sure you know the answer to both of those questions, love."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hayley lied as she backed up until she felt the wall against her back. "Damn!" Hayley thought to herself as Klaus close in on her.

"Your family took someone that my family cares deeply about." Klaus growled. "And now I am here to repay the favor."

Hayley had little to no time at all to react before he grabbed her head, turned it in an unnecessarily harsh manner, and bashed it against the wall hard enough to knock her out, though, not enough to kill her.

**~end of flashback~**

"Son of a bitch!" Hayley exclaimed, jumping off of the bed she was on and rushing over to the door.

When she tried twisting to door knob, she found that someone had locked it from the outside somehow.

Hayley sighed as she shook her head in disbelief. "Of course, it's locked," she said out loud to the air.

Hayley angrily started to pound on the door as loudly as was possible for her to do. "Let me out of here!" she yelled again and again.

She probably continued to pound on the door and yell for at least a few minutes before her arms began to hurt and she was too out of breath to yell anymore.

"Oh, my god! This cannot be happening," Hayley thought to herself, raking a hand harshly through her hair in frustration.

There had to be a way out of here. She wasn't going to wait for someone to come up here. Looking around, Hayley saw the windows on the far side of room and sprinted over to them. She looked out and came to the realization that she was on the second floor and that there was a fire escape right outside. The ladder looked short, but a short jump down wouldn't be too hard to make.

Hayley was just about to try to pry the window open when she heard a voice behind her.

"Not trying to escape now, are you?"

Hayley spun around quickly and once again came face to face with Klaus.

"I wouldn't recommend it," he told her after she didn't reply, a smirk on his face the size of Texas. "The whole compound is under a protection spell. The windows are all magically sealed shut."

Hayley glared at him. If only looks could kill.

"Why in the hell am I here?" Hayley asked, leaning back against the window.

Klaus chuckled darkly. "Don't play dumb. We're both aware that you know exactly why you are here."

"No, I do not," Hayley replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I am already getting very tired of your lies," Klaus hissed at her, stepping closer to her.

Hayley tried to move away from him, but he caught her by the arm before she could. His grip was painful. Hayley was sure that she could feel his fingers ripping into her flesh. She tried to yank her arm from his grasp but it he was holding on to her too tight. Even with her werewolf strength, she was no match for his vampire strength.

"Let go of me!" Hayley hissed through clenched teeth as she continued to try to pry her arm away from him.

"Not until you stop lying to me!" Klaus hissed right back.

"I am not fucking lying to you!" Hayley insisted. "Now let me go!"

Klaus opened his mouth to say something else but didn't get the chance to as another voice beat him to it.

"Niklaus, let the girl go."

Hayley looked around Klaus to figure out who the owner of the voice was.

The voice belonged to Klaus's older brother, Elijah. She could not refrain from eyeing him up and down. Maybe it was just her, but she wasn't usually a big fan of guys who wore suits. But in Elijah's case, for some reason, Hayley couldn't take her eyes off of him. There was just something about him in a suit. The way he wore them. The way he looked much less formal than most would when wearing a suit and much more casual. It was as if he wore suits all the time and they were his normal choice of clothing, which for all she knew could be the case.

Elijah Mikaelson was a mystery. Hayley didn't know much about him other than the fact that he was Klaus's brother and that he had only shown up in town a few months prior the current moment in time. Apparently, Klaus and Elijah didn't have the best brotherly relationship. Hayley would have been lying if she ever said she wasn't the least bit interested in why their relationship was so strained while their relationships with their other siblings seemed to be good. Whatever the reason was, it would surely be an interesting one.

"Did you not hear me? I said to let the girl go, Niklaus," Elijah spoke again, more sternly when Klaus didn't obey his order the first time.

Klaus's grip on Hayley's arm disappeared at once.

Hayley brought her arm up to her chest and used her good hand to rub at the sore spot where he'd been grasping her.

Klaus turned to his brother. "She knows where she is," he told him through clenched and gritted teeth.

"That may be so, but if you harm her in even the slightest and the wolves find out, they may retaliate," Elijah reminded him.

The look on his face was one that more or less dared Klaus to defy his words, which Klaus almost did.

Klaus started to say something to Elijah, but again Elijah beat him to the punch.

"We're both aware the wolves have powerful witches on their side to make that happen."

Klaus thought about Elijah's words for a moment before looking back at Hayley. He shook his head in disgust and then turned back to look at Elijah once more before he stalked passed him and out the door, slamming it behind him. The force of the door slamming made the whole room shake due to the reverberation of it.

Elijah shook his head at his brother's childish antics before turning his attention to Hayley. "I apologize for my brother, he can get quite out of line at times."

Hayley rolled her eyes at his words and scoffed. "Yeah, tell me about it," she replied sarcastically.

Elijah walked swiftly over and stopped right in front of her.

Hayley watched him closely. She found it odd that while in Klaus's presence she had the urge to run far, far away...but in Elijah's she strangely wanted to stay right there in his presence. She even wanted to be closer to him. It was almost like there was this magnetic pull or something trying to keep her near him. She didn't budge even an inch when Elijah reached forward and gently ran his fingers over the right side of her forehead. A sudden pain shot through her and she winced.

"What the..." Hayley started to ask as she moved away slightly.

"It seems my brother may have been a bit too harsh on you earlier," Elijah told her, retracting his hand and showing it to her.

Hayley's eyes widened at the sight of her blood on his fingers. How had she not realized she'd gotten a gash on her head earlier?

"Let me help you with that wound," Elijah said to her in a soothing tone of voice.

Hayley watched, transfixed on what was happening before her very own eyes. Elijah's eyes turned from their normal brown to black as coal; the veins underneath his eyes were suddenly much more prominent and very dark, and his fangs popped out from his gums. Up until now, Hayley hadn't been a witness face to face to such a transformation. Reaching her hand out, she got half way to his face before drawing it back.

"What the hell are you thinking right now, Hayley?!" she asked, scolding herself.

She literally only met Elijah minutes before and she was already trying to touch his face. Stupid, so stupid. Not to mention, so out of character.

Hayley came back to reality just as Elijah brought his wrist up to his mouth and bit into it. She failed to stop the small gasp that escaped through her mouth. If she was stupid for already wanting to touch his face, then he was whatever was worse than stupid for already wanting to give her his blood.

She shook her head no as he offered her his wrist. "I couldn't... I should not do that."

"I insist," Elijah urged her. "It's partially my fault that you have that wound in the first place."

Hayley raised her eyebrows, confused. "How so?" she asked him, curiously.

"I was going to come speak to you myself," Elijah answered, honestly as he turned away from her.

For a moment, Hayley could have sworn she saw a hint of regret in his black eyes.

"However, I got wrapped up in a prior engagement and my dear brother decided to take it upon himself to do this his way," he finished before looking back at her again.

"You were gonna come talk to me?" Hayley wondered out loud, not sure what to make of that statement.

Elijah nodded his head. "It was never my intention to kidnap you as my brother ended up doing," he admitted. "I'm much more of the "use my words" type."

Excitement coursed through Hayley's veins.

"Does this mean I get to go home?" she dared to ask as she bit her lower lip and anxiously awaited his reply.

A simple shake of his head was all Hayley needed for her excitement to drain out of her.

"What?! Why not?!" she asked, outraged.

"I'm afraid that it's not possible to let you go now," Elijah answered, sounding truly sorry for the news he had to give her. "Due to my brother kidnapping you and the way he did it..." Elijah trailed off momentarily, reaching up with his free hand to touch the wound on her head again with a look of slight disgust and regret on his face. "You need to stay here so that I can keep an eye on you. As long as you are here under my watch, no more harm will come to you at the hands of my brother or anyone else who dare try to hurt you."

On one hand, Hayley felt a sense of joy at his words due to how much Elijah seemed to care about her after only minutes of knowing her. He was the first guy she'd ever met who didn't treat her like dirt or who only saw her as someone to have sex with for a night. On the other hand, Hayley felt angry. He may want to keep her safe for whatever reason but that didn't give him the right to keep her here against her will like his brother intended. How dare he?

Hayley glared at him, knocking his still offered wrist away from her, pushing herself away from the window and quickly making her way to the other side of the room. "You may not be as much of an ass as your brother, but you're still no better than him by keeping me here," she spat, turning back to glare at Elijah more, crossing her arms tightly against her chest. "Just go away and leave me alone."

Elijah was silent for a minute or two, just standing there and simply staring at her, before bowing his head as he replied, "I am sorry you feel that way. However, I still assure you that no harm will come to you while you are here."

After scoffing at his comment, Hayley muttered under her breath, "That makes me feel so much better."

Due to his vampire hearing, there was not any doubt in Hayley's mind that Elijah had heard her. Despite that fact, he chose to ignore her earlier words. Instead, he turned and walked to the door. He paused, his hand resting on the door knob.

"Once we have our sister back with us, you will be free to leave as you please," he spoke quietly, turning the knob and opening the door; he promptly left the room and closed the door just as quietly.

Hayley normally would have yelled something after him, but his last words to her kept her from doing so.

Unlike Klaus, Elijah knew that she knew what the situation was about, but he didn't try at all to force the conversation about it on her.

"What have I done?" Hayley asked herself as she jumped face first onto the bed; she grabbed a pillow lying next to her so and shoved her face into it to muffle the sounds of her screaming and (not that she would admit) crying into it.

Instead of being angry at Elijah as she had the right to be for helping keep her there, Hayley felt more guilty about what she had done. Only in her life would rightful anger be overtaken by guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of the chapter! All thoughts and feedback are very much welcome.


	3. Instant Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters at times. I only own the plot...mostly.

Hayley was left alone to her own devices for the rest of the night, and for that she was both relieved about and thankful for. Due to the feelings of anger and guilt she was experiencing because of Klaus and Elijah's actions (mainly Klaus' actions) and her own actions, being left alone had been a good thing. Hayley was never one to be able to handle herself under too much emotional pressure at once. Had anyone come to her throughout the night while her emotions were out of control, there was no doubt that she would've come clean about what she did.

If the truth were to come out too quick, Hayley had an inkling she would not be getting out of this situation alive. That fact was the one thing that Hayley was afraid of the most. She needed to keep her emotions in check or else she would wind up signing her own death wish and she didn't want to do that. Hayley's main priority was to keep her mouth shut and not admit her guilt before her parents gave the Mikaelson's their sister back so she could go home.

Her parents would do the right thing. Right? They would surrender in this stupid vampire and werewolf war to ensure her getting out of this alive, wouldn't they? It was a good thing that Hayley was already lying down somewhere comfy. Hayley's uncertainty about what the correct answers to those questions were made her feel faint. Her not knowing what was more important to her parents, her safety or winning a stupid and pointless war, was completely screwed up. Although, considering that her parents still wanted her to marry Oliver, she wouldn't be surprised if winning was the more important thing to them. Hayley would be disappointed if that turned out to be the case, but she would not be surprised about it.

The sound of a light knock on the door broke Hayley from her thoughts.

"Come in," Hayley said in a dull tone of voice, hoping it conveyed that she was still not in a good mood from the day before.

She already knew that Elijah stood on the other side of the door. The fact that the person on the other side of the knocked instead of barging in was the clue that showed the person's identity. Moments later, the door opened and Elijah walked in carrying a tray of food, confirming that Hayley was right.

Hayley still felt the after effects of her guilt and anger consuming her after what had transpired the night before. She still wasn't in a mood for company. But something told her she had little choice in the matter in that moment.

"I hope you don't mind pancakes, eggs, and orange juice," Elijah said, walking over to the bed.

For a second, Hayley was curious where the food had come from and was going to ask about it. But then she remembered that one of the Mikaelson siblings was a witch and witches, since they were technically humans as well, needed to eat to survive. So she answered her own question and didn't need to ask it to Elijah after all.

"I'm not hungry," Hayley grumbled, rolling over and shoving her face into the pillow she was resting her head on.

The sheets moved slightly beside her as Elijah placed the tray down next to her.

She heard Elijah sigh.

"Don't be stubborn, Andrea..."

"It's Hayley," she said correcting him, her voice muffled by the fluffy pillow. "I prefer being called Hayley," she said as she turned back over to look up at him.

Elijah looked back at her with a quizzical expression gracing his face.

"Hayley is my middle name," Hayley told him, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "Ever since I can remember, I've liked my middle name better and insist everyone call me Hayley instead of Andrea," she explained, becoming immediately confused by her own words.

Confusion took her over due to the lack of reasoning for why she was telling him this. Simply saying she preferred being called Hayley would have been enough. That was all she did for anyone in the past who called her Andrea instead of Hayley. But for some unknown reason, she wanted to tell Elijah this random piece of information. Never had she felt the need to tell anyone this. So why did she now?

"Duly noted." Elijah smiled. "Regardless, I'm willing to assume that you haven't eaten since yesterday."

Hayley's silence confirmed his assumption to be correct.

He gestured towards the tray. "You need to eat something."

Hayley was about to argue just as her stomach growled, stopping her before she could get a word out.

Elijah chuckled, no doubt having heard her stomach's much too loud protests.

"Fine," Hayley said as she reluctantly sat up, picking up the tray and moving it into her lap. "For future reference, someone owes me Chinese food."

"Why is that?" Elijah questioned her curiously.

Hayley grabbed the syrup bottle and popped the cap open, pouring it all over her pancakes and eggs before huffing and answering his question. "I was waiting for the Chinese food delivery guy when your jackass of a brother showed up at my door."

Elijah nodded in understanding. "That would explain why you opened the door for him as quick as you did."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised that he didn't just barge in considering he didn't need an invitation to enter my apartment."

"The spell he had our sister cast only allowed him uninvited access as long as you opened the door," Elijah informed her. "Even witches and their spells have limits as to what is too much."

She put the syrup bottle down and closed it, glancing up at Elijah to find him leaning against the dresser across from the bed. "How do you know all of this when you said that you had nothing to do with what happened?"

"My brother may go behind my back at times, but he rarely lies to my face when I confront him," Elijah answered with slight hesitation, as if he wasn't sure if he should even believe his answer or not.

Hayley picked up on Elijah's hesitation almost immediately. "Rarely being the keyword," she replied before taking a bite of the eggs to help settle her grumbling stomach.

Elijah nodded his head, agreeing with her.

An awkward silence fell between them as Hayley ate. It was weird for Hayley to eat in front of Elijah. Unlike her who had to eat something, he was a vampire that didn't have to eat unless he wanted to eat. Him standing there watching her eat without eating something also, so weird and awkward. Hayley made sure not to make eye contact with him the entire time because that would've made their current predicament even worse than it already was.

"Um... so is there by chance a phone around here that I can borrow?" Hayley asked once she finished eating everything on the plate, placing the tray next to her on the bed. "I need to make an important call."

Elijah glanced at her with an expression on his face that more or less meant, "Are you serious?"

Hayley rolled her eyes, throwing the blanket off of her and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Do not look at me like that. You said you didn't agree with kidnapping me so loaning me a phone would help prove that," she said, crossing her arms. "You know, despite the fact you are keeping me here," she added as an afterthought, standing up, hoping she could talk him into letting her use a phone.

"I do not think..." Elijah said before pausing, looking away from her for a moment.

Hayley sighed and spoke up before he talked again to finish his sentence. "I will only call my work and fake the flu so I don't lose my job."

She suddenly realized she was going to have to pull out the pity card to get her hands on a phone.

"If I don't call in sick to work, I will lose my job. If I lose my job, then I won't have any income. That means I won't be able to pay my rent, and I will end up being forced to move back to the bayou." Hayley sighed again, putting on the best pouty face she could muster. "I honestly don't want to move back to the bayou until I have absolutely no choice in the matter," she admitted. "Please, Elijah. You can listen in on the call if you don't trust me."

Surprise coursed through Hayley's entire being when she noticed the change of Elijah's demeanor. The realization that she was getting through to him by playing the pity card was a crazy one. Never in a million years would she have ever thought that she could do such a thing. A thousand year old vampire feeling sorry for her? Due to what her parents had always said, Hayley had been under the impression that most vampires only cared about themselves. But with how Elijah had been acting towards her in the past 12 hours, he was consistently proving her parents wrong.

"I pride myself in being able to read people well." Elijah spoke in a confident tone that suited him perfectly, pulling his cell phone from his front pocket and holding it out to her. "I trust you to do as you said you will."

Through her surprise, reaching for the phone and taking hold of it. Hayley managed a simple, "Thank you."

"I will leave you to make your call. I will return in a few minutes," Elijah said, picking up the food tray from the bed before turning and walking out of the room.

Her mouth gaping, Hayley watched him leave. Having only known her for 12 hours, give or take, he trusted her. Was this just a ploy to make sure that she continued to trust him? Or was he genuinely trusting her to make the call she said she was going to make? Why was Elijah so different than what she expected all vampires to be? Either Elijah was a good actor and vampires truly were as Hayley grew up thinking they were (evil, lying, manipulative, bloodsucking monsters), or her parents were the best liars on the planet.

Hayley was tempted to call for help due to her sudden access to a phone. She quickly decided against it due to the phone having a call log; at least that is what she told herself. The last thing Hayley wanted was to have the only person who was being civil towards her suddenly turn on her due to her blatant lie. Hayley would never admit it out loud, but Elijah giving her his phone and then leaving her alone to make her call because he trusted her played a bigger part in her not calling for help than the call log did.

After pressing the numbers on the phone's keypad, Hayley called her work and faked the flu just as she had assured Elijah she would.

**~WDF~**

When Elijah returned not too long later just as he said he would, Hayley was in the midst of making the bed. If she were at her own apartment, the bed would've stayed a mess; but she wasn't and because of that this bed was getting made. Hayley wasn't sure why she even cared to make the bed, considering her current predicament, she had no reason for doing it. Then again, it gave her something to do other than sit around in the room she was being held captive in doing nothing.

"Thank you again for letting me borrow your phone," Hayley said, smiling briefly at him when she handed him his phone back. "My job is now safe for at least a week or so considering I have an inkling that this flu bug will be one of those week long ones."

Elijah smiled back at her. "You're welcome."

"Not to bother you with another request so soon after the first one, but is there any chance I can get a change of clothes?" Hayley questioned, looking down at the clothes she currently wore.

Well, she had showered the day before and she hadn't done anything between then and now that would make her dirty and/or sweaty. She'd probably be able to get away with wearing the same clothes again. They were still technically clean.

"Or at least a shower?" She said that as more of a suggestion than a question. "I can wear these clothes at least one more time."

Elijah nodded his head towards the ensuite bathroom. "You can shower in there," he told her.

That was, without a doubt, better than only being confined to one room.

"Thank..."

She was almost done thanking him when his next words had the rest of her sentence abruptly going back down her throat.

"There should be towels in the bathroom closet. And Rebekah should have shampoo and other things in there for you to use."

"This is Rebekah's room?" Hayley asked, wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her.

Elijah nodded his head, a sad expression gracing his facial features. "This is the only free room in the compound."

Hayley bit the side of her cheek, trying to keep her sudden panic at bay.

" _Oh, god! This is Rebekah's room. I am in Rebekah's room,_ " Hayley thought to herself, an internal panic happening.

How had she not realized it before now? Probably because she hadn't been looking around inspecting the room. But still, oh god. This was bad, so bad. The guilt of what Hayley had done, the part she had knowingly and stupidly played in all of this, consumed her once again.

Hayley suddenly felt like all the air in the room had been sucked out of it. She couldn't breathe, she was sure that she was suffocating, and she was definitely hyperventilating. But she couldn't let on about it because then Elijah would get suspicious. This was another one of those emotional pressure times for her. If Elijah got suspicious and asked the wrong question at the right time, he surely wouldn't be wanting to protect her anymore.

Managing to compose herself for a bit longer, Hayley flashed Elijah a quick smile.

Before leaving the room, Elijah turned back to give her the best news she had heard all morning. "Before I forget, there is one other thing. Due to the fact you are spelled to not be able to leave the compound on your own, you are free to roam wherever you please."

With that Elijah turned back and left, closing the door behind him.

A wave of sudden relief took over Hayley. Oh, yes, thank God. Hayley didn't have to think twice about it, she would take full advantage of the luxury that Elijah gave her every second she could. Not being confined to Rebekah's room where her guilt would now consume her every time she stayed in there would be a good for her.

Hayley smiled to herself on her way to the bathroom.

She might be able to survive this situation long enough that she can go home after all. That is as long as her guilt didn't get to her first and cause her to make this situation worse than it already was. She sure hoped that would not be the case.

" _Please do the right thing mom and dad_ ," she thought to herself as she closed the bathroom door behind her and wasted no time getting ready for her shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be sure to let me know what you thought of the chapter! All thoughts and feedback are very much appreciated and welcome.


	4. Long Story Short

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Hayley meets another Mikaelson!

After showering and putting her clothes back on, at least she felt somewhat better and cleaner, Hayley wandered out of Rebekah's room to explore the compound as Elijah said she could. Doing anything definitely beat staying in that room any longer. Hayley had felt like a caged wolf, no pun intended, stuck in that room.

It was bad enough to begin with being locked in there since yesterday, but then Elijah revealed that the room was Rebekah's. Every time Hayley thought about that being Rebekah's room, she felt a pang of guilt course through her. At this point, she was no worse than Klaus was. That was not something anyone should ever have to have be a fact about them. It was an awful thing to think and it was an even more awful thing to realize that it was the truth.

Hayley walked through the compound in search of Elijah. He gave her the run of the compound, but a part of her didn't want to go snooping around if she didn't have to. She decided that she would go looking for Elijah and if she couldn't find him then and only then would she go explore the compound on her own. Only open doors, of course. If a door was closed then she wasn't going to break in just to see what was behind the door...no matter how much her curiosity may or may not be piqued.

After searching the compound, high and low, she didn't find Elijah. Hayley was taken aback by how much she was bummed out that she couldn't find him. She'd only known him for literally a day and a half and he was already making her feel things that she'd never felt before. Giving it some thought, Hayley came to the conclusion and passed those feelings off as being due to the fact that Elijah was the first guy in pretty much her entire life that didn't treat her like dirt or act like an ass towards her all the time.

Hayley slowly walked down the long hallway, which looked like a hallway out of a Steven King film adaptation. Most of the doors were shut but there was one room with double doors that was open. Curiosity got the best of her and she walked through the doors without a second thought, finding herself in the study.

Looking around and taking in the room, Hayley made her way over to the bookshelves. She walked down the line of books, reaching out to trail her fingers over the spines. Most of the books were ones that she had never heard of before. She wasn't surprised considering that the books belonged to thousand year old vampires. Of course, the books were from other time periods. It would've been surprising if they weren't.

"Did you find a book that interests you?" a female voice asked from behind Hayley, causing her to jump and spin around quickly to come face to face with the owner of the voice.

"Oh, umm, no! I was just looking around," Hayley answered quickly, recognizing the girl as the other Mikaelson sister, Freya.

Hayley knew just as much about Freya as she knew about Elijah. Their names and the fact that he was a vampire and she was a witch. While Elijah had shown up in town a few months before, Freya had been in town for at least half that time. She had shown up out of the blue and surprised everyone by her presence.

Growing up, Hayley had only ever heard of five Mikaelson siblings...all vampires. Then about a month or so ago, Freya arrived in town and suddenly there was another Mikaelson sibling. Except the newest Mikaelson sibling was not a vampire, she was a witch. That had thrown every wolf pack in town for a loop. No one knew how it came to be that five of the Mikaelson siblings were vampires while Freya was a witch and that was the way it stayed to this day. Freya being both a witch and a Mikaelson was a mystery then, and it was still a mystery now.

"Elijah said that I could go anywhere in the compound and the door was open so..." Hayley trailed off, not sure how to finish her sentence without rambling on for ages.

A chuckle escaped Freya's throat. "No need to explain," she said, pushing off from her place leaning against the door frame and making her way over to Hayley. "Elijah gave me the heads up before he had to leave to take care of a few things."

"He's not here?" Hayley asked, starting to feel uneasy when Freya confirmed that Elijah was in fact MIA at the moment. "What about your other brother?"

Hayley sure hoped that Freya would say he wasn't there either. It wasn't that she was afraid of Klaus because she wasn't. She just didn't trust him around her without Elijah there as well.

Freya shook her head no and smiled. "It's just us girls here right now."

Hayley sighed a breath of relief and smiled at that information.

"Elijah asked me to keep you company while he is away," Freya informed her as she stood a few feet away from her.

"I do not mind being by myself," Hayley said as she suddenly remembered that it was one of Freya's spells that allowed Klaus to enter her apartment and that it was also one of Freya's spells keeping her magically locked in the compound.

Freya sighed, picking up quickly on the change of Hayley's mood. "I know I'm probably not your most favorite person right now," Freya said, stating the obvious.

An evil sounding chuckle ripped itself from Hayley's throat. "You've got that right."

"I know an apology won't do much to change the truth, but for what it may be worth, I truly am sorry that I had to do both spells," Freya replied genuinely, making her way over to the couch and sitting down.

Hayley's mood softened a little as she realized that Freya was telling the truth.

"If that is the case, why did you do them?" Hayley asked out of curiosity, moving closer to where Freya was sitting.

"I'm willing to bet that you're not familiar with the story of me?" Freya stated more so than asked a question, glancing up at Hayley.

Hayley nodded. "I don't know anything about you except that you're a Mikaelson and a witch," Hayley admitted.

"It's a long story that I won't get into right now, but long story short..." Freya trailed off momentarily, trying to figure out how to explain the situation in the least amount of words. "Long story short, I was separated from my siblings a very long time ago...before most of them were even born and just recently I was reunited with them. Then, all of a sudden, Rebekah gets taken and all I want is to have her back so when Klaus came to me with his plan..." Freya trailed off, turning her head away trying to hide the guilt on her face. "I didn't think twice about it until it was already too late," Freya finished a moment or two later, her guilt clear in her tone of voice.

Hayley wanted to stay angry with her, but after hearing that...the short version of the story of Freya...Hayley felt bad for her. She, herself, only had an older brother and he was always around throughout her life, Hayley could only imagine how much it would pain her if she was ever separated from him for as long as Freya was separated from her siblings.

Not only that, Hayley could relate to how guilty Freya was feeling. If anything, Hayley felt twice the guilt than she felt before talking to Freya. How was she honestly supposed to stay angry at Freya for what she did when she had done something just as bad, if not worse.? They both had every right to be mad at each other. The only difference was that Freya didn't know she had the right to be mad at Hayley. Therefore, Hayley didn't feel right staying mad at Freya when Freya couldn't rightly feel angry at her as well.

In order to push her guilt to the backburner for now, Hayley started thinking about the first part of what Freya said and added it together with what little she had known before now.

"Wait a second," Hayley said, her voice revealing her confusion. "If your siblings are thousand year old vampires and you're a witch...you said you were the oldest of all of you...but how are you still so young?" Hayley asked suddenly confused as she tried to wrap her head around what Freya told her and what she'd taken from all of it.

"That would be getting into the long version," Freya answered, following up her answer with a small laugh. "We will save that version for another time and place."

Hayley sighed, leaning back against the couch. "Hopefully that time and place will be in a few days and not here."

"I can't promise that," Freya told her honestly, positioning herself on the couch so that she was turned towards Hayley. "When you get to go free again depends on when we get our sister back."

A pang of guilt suddenly hit Hayley again and she winced, covering it up with a very loud, fake cough. This was torture for her. She was almost regretting ever asking if she could take a shower, which was what had lead to Elijah telling her she could roam the compound. Hayley never thought she'd ever see the day that being locked in a room was the better option than being able to roam freely. But that's exactly what she was seeing now.

To distract herself, Hayley decided to change the subject to something lighter.

"So how do you keep yourself busy around here?" she asked, hoping that Freya could provide her the distraction she craved now. "Surely, there has to be something to do around here other than spells and supernatural crap."

Freya chuckled. "Unlike my brothers, I take full advantage of living in the 21st century."

Hayley's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Tell me you have Netflix!" she exclaimed, sitting up. "For the love of God, please tell me that you have Netflix."

"Who doesn't these days?" Freya asked rhetorically.

"Oh thank god! Yes!" She smiled. For the first time since yesterday afternoon, Hayley was at total ease. "So what do you prefer to watch? Tv shows or movies?"

Freya shrugged. "I'm not picky," she admitted.

"I have much to introduce you to," Hayley told her. "But first...where is the kitchen at?" she asked, standing up quickly.

Freya followed her action, raising a quizzical eyebrow. "Didn't you eat breakfast not even an hour ago?"

Hayley laughed. "I'm a werewolf," she answered simply as if Freya was supposed to know exactly how that was a good answer to her question. "I have a high metabolism and eat more than most girls my age," she explained after realizing that her answer wasn't clicking for Freya. "So where is the kitchen?"

~ **WDF** ~

Later that afternoon, Hayley and Freya were watching Season 2 of Parks and Recreation when Elijah returned to the compound. The sound of laughter had been the only thing he'd heard when he entered the compound. He followed the laughter up to Freya's room where he found her and Hayley lounging on her bed, watching tv and eating popcorn.

"I see that you two have met," Elijah spoke up from where he stood in the doorway, causing both girls to jump. "And have hit it off fairly quick."

Hayley looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey, Elijah," Freya greeted him, pausing the tv before leaning up and resting her body weight on her forearms. "You told me to keep Hayley company. That is exactly what I have been doing."

"I can see that," Elijah said, looking from her to Hayley and then back to her.

"Did you take care of the things that you needed to?" Hayley asked, making small talk with him as she sat up and pulled her legs in closer to her, wrapping her arms around them and then resting her chin on her knees.

Elijah didn't answer her question right away. He looked at Freya first, something that Hayley did not fail to notice. They seemed to have a quick and silent conversation before he looked back at her again.

"For the most part," he answered simply.

Hayley stared at him, wondering what he was not telling her. That look and silent conversation between him and Freya wasn't for nothing. There was something he was keeping from her. Freya, too, for that matter. Hayley decided that she would leave it alone for now. She would try to pry more information from them both separately, she'd probably find out more that way.

"That's good," Hayley replied, keeping it simple as well.

A moment of silence tore through the room before Elijah broke it.

"Well, if either of you need me for anything, I will be right down the hall."

"Noted," Hayley said as she laid back down and positioned herself so that she was comfortable again. "See you later."

Elijah eyed her curiously for a moment before glancing over at Freya one last time before turning and exiting the room. Hayley secretly watched him leave out of the corner of her eye. Her mind was still racing, wondering what he was hiding from her. In most cases, she wouldn't have cared what was being kept from her, but that silent conversation that Elijah just had with Freya wasn't something she could ignore. She would have to come up with a way to find out.

It didn't take long for Hayley to concoct an inkling of a plan. Next time Elijah was out and it was just her and Freya in the compound, she would try to get something out of Freya. Their friendship of sorts was only hours old, but Freya had been willing to tell Hayley the short version of her story only minutes after meeting her. Hayley hoped that for that exact reason, Freya wouldn't mind filling her in on some other things as well when she asked.


	5. Late Night Bonding

Pitch black met Hayley's eyes when she opened them again. It seemed that she had fallen asleep sometime during her and Freya's Parks and Recreation binge watch and surprisingly she'd stayed asleep for many hours. But now she was awake and she didn't feel tired anymore.

Sitting up, Hayley glanced around the room, noticing the clock on Freya's bedside table. It was the only source of light filling the room. The clocks bright red letters revealed that it was 4:11 in the morning. If she wanted to, Haley could get at least five more hours of sleep. Letting herself fall back onto the bed, Hayley closed her eyes and proceeded to toss and turn for about 20 minutes before giving up on getting back to sleep.

Frustrated at not being able to fall back to sleep, Hayley sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She stood up too fast and found herself standing on wobbly feet. Spreading her arms out, Hayley managed to balance herself. Slowly and carefully, she made herself over to where she was sure the bedroom door was. She missed it by a few inches and accidentally banged her head into the wall with a loud thud.

"Damn!" she cursed, rubbing her temple as she backed away from the wall.

She should've let her eyes adjust before she tried to find her way out of the room. Her head was now paying the price for her not doing that. Hayley turned around, half expecting Freya to have heard the noise and woken up. She could make out her shape on the bed thanks to the bedside table clock, Freya didn't seem to have moved or be moving at all.

Turning back around, Hayley made sure to find the actual door this time. She made it out of the room without another accidental head banging. Hayley made a quick beeline for the bathroom once she was out in the dimly lit hallway. Any light was better than the dark at that moment. The last thing Hayley needed was another head banging.

After using the bathroom, Hayley quietly wandered the halls as she tried to tire herself out enough so she'd be able to get a few more hours of sleep. She was stuck, confined in-between the walls of the compound currently. It wasn't like she had anything else to do other than sleep the days away until she could finally go home again. Hayley was anxiously awaiting for the day that would happen.

Realizing that walking around wasn't helping tire her out any, Hayley decided to go back to bed and hopefully will herself back to sleep. She was halfway back to Freya's room when she passed the study and noticed the door open just a crack; light was peaking through revealing that someone was in there. Hayley thought about it for a moment, looking from the study door down the hall to Freya's bedroom door and then back to the study door. She decided trying to force herself to sleep was no longer what she wanted to do.

Hayley walked to the study door and slowly pushed it open, pausing momentarily when the door let out a small squeal in protest. She sighed, pushing the door open enough for her to enter. There was no reason to try to be stealthy anymore after the noise that the door made. A small smile formed on her lips as she made her way into the study to find Elijah sitting in one of the chairs, a book laying open in his lap.

"Hey," Hayley said slightly taken aback by how girly her voice sounded in that moment. "Would you mind some company?"

Elijah smiled at her. "Of course," he replied, motioning to the couch that was placed diagonally from the chair he was in.

Hayley returned his smile and went further into the room.

"Your head is bleeding again," Elijah observed as Hayley took a few steps closer to him.

Hayley couldn't help but chuckle when he pointed it out. She hadn't realized she had busted her head open again. But she also wasn't surprised that she had. The impact of her head against the wall had been rather hard...hard enough to give her a headache.

Elijah's brows furrowed in confusion. "What is funny about that?"

"I ran into the wall earlier and I think that might've busted my wound open again," Hayley explained, her laughter having died down.

"Ah," Elijah responded as if he was a scientist who had just made a new discovery. "That was what that noise was then."

They both got a laugh out of that.

"I'm surprised Freya didn't wake up from the noise my head banging against the wall made," Hayley mused, walking around the room and taking in everything as she had done the day before.

"She is surprisingly quite a sound sleeper given the fact that she's the only one in a compound full of vampires that actually needs to sleep and has a regular sleeping schedule," Elijah pointed out.

"I can tell," Hayley agreed, nodding her head a little which caused little droplets of blood to slide down her forehead and face. "A light sleeper would've woken up if that noise happened in their room."

Hayley wiped at the blood on her face without thinking, getting it all over her hands and accidentally on her shirt when she unintentionally swiped her bloody hand across her stomach.

Elijah watched her carefully. "Are you sure you don't want me to help you heal that?" he asked her, preparing himself to stand up if need be.

"Yes, I am sure," Hayley responded in an assuring tone of voice, turning her entire body to look at him. "Besides, I barely know you," she added as an afterthought. "Why would I drink the blood of someone I barely know?"

Hayley would have been lying if she said she wasn't the least bit tempted to take him up on his offer. But then she remembered why she declined the first time around. The circumstances were not the most ideal. Hayley trusted Elijah slightly - for reasons currently unknown - at this point, but she didn't trust him enough yet to drink his blood; not even if it would help ease the pain of her bleeding and aching head.

"After all, I am not a vampire," Hayley joked.

Elijah chuckled. "That you truly aren't," he concurred, pulling out a handkerchief from his suit pocket. "At least use this to help stop your wound from bleeding more and keep it from getting infected."

Hayley reached out and took it from him. "Thank you." She smiled at him.

"How come you're up at this hour?" Elijah asked curiously as he closed the book in his lap and placed it on the table across from him.

Hayley shrugged her shoulders. "I could not get back to sleep," she answered truthfully. "I guess I am a little insomniatic due to being homesick."

"I am doing my best to get you back to your own life as soon as possible," Elijah assured her. "I promise you that."

"For a very strange and unknown reason, I believe what you say," Hayley said, crossing the room and sitting down on the other side of the couch. "A part of me is telling me not to believe you due to the current situation. But then another part of me is telling me that you haven't exactly given me a reason not to believe you so far."

"Which side are you siding with now?" Elijah questioned, staring intently at her as he awaited her answer.

Hayley shot him a sly smirk and replied, "You tell me."

Playing along, Elijah smirked back. "Considering you're sitting here talking to me while you can't sleep, I will guess the latter."

Hayley laughed. "You are correct, kind sir," she said jokingly, dabbing at her head with the handkerchief that he'd given her.

"I assume that my sister has some kind of medicine you can use on your wound to keep it from getting infected." Elijah sat up straighter in his chair as he spoke.

A mischievous smile took form on Hayley's lips. "You mention that now after you've already offered me your blood twice," she said, biting her lower lip softly. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you did that on purpose." Hayley laughed. "Trying to get me to drink your blood? Is that some weird vampire pick up line or action type thing?"

The abrupt speechlessness of Elijah revealed to Hayley that her teasing wasn't something he had expected from her. She didn't blame him. They'd only known each other for a little under two days or so now, he didn't know much about her and her personality yet. A part of her felt sorry for him because sometimes she couldn't even control how she acted. Often times she'd do or say things without realizing until after the fact.

They sat in silence for a short period of time before Elijah cleared his throat and promptly ended it.

"Here, let me," Elijah told her as he leaned forward, reaching out to grab the handkerchief from Hayley.

Their hands brushed against each others in the process, sending a surprise shockwave straight through Hayley. She immediately let go of the handkerchief just as Elijah grabbed hold of it. That had been completely unexpected. If Elijah had felt it, too, he did not let on that he had. Hayley didn't chance mentioning it since she wasn't even sure what it was or what it had meant. Therefore, Elijah had not said anything so she let it go.

It was Hayley's turn to be speechless for a few moments.

"Is there any chance of me getting a toothbrush and some toothpaste?" Hayley asked when she found her voice again, changing the subject to something completely different. "I can only imagine how bad my breath is right now after a few days of not brushing."

A chuckle tore from Elijah's throat at her words as he lightly dabbed the handkerchief against the wound on Hayley's forehead. "I am sure we can arrange something when daylight arrives."

"Would I be crossing a line by asking if there's any way of getting _my_ _current_ toothbrush and toothpaste?" she dared to ask, looking hopefully at him.

Elijah gave her the same look from the day before that more or less conveyed, "Are you serious?"

Hayley shrugged her shoulders. "It was worth a shot." She sighed. "How long will it be until I get to go home?"

"If I knew, I would tell you," Elijah answered honestly. "It all depends on how negotiations go."

Hayley slumped back against the couch with a frustrated sigh. "I miss my bed and clean clothes and my toothbrush and toothpaste and just everything." She winced at the sound of her voice; it was whiny and so not her. "I guess the saying you don't know what you've got until it's gone is true."

Elijah raised an eyebrow at her last choice words.

Rolling her eyes slightly, Hayley chuckled briefly before she replied, "I mean, I know it's not gone for good but it doesn't stop me from feeling that way." She crossed her arms over her chest and repositioned herself so that she was laying on her back on the couch, one leg hanging off the side and the other stretched out over the armrest.

"What are you reading?" she asked when she got tired of throwing herself a pity party, looking towards him and eyeing the book in his lap.

"An old book," he answered. "One that you probably have never heard of."

He was probably right; though that major possibility did nothing to stop Hayley from still challenging him to try her with her eyes.

He accepted her silent challenge and proceeded to tell her the title of the book, give her a brief synopsis of what it was about (when she asked him), the name of the author, and the century that the book came from.

"Alright, so you were right about that one," Hayley admitted defeat after a short while. "I don't recall the public school system teaching about books from that far back," she added as an afterthought. "Although, to be honest I didn't really pay attention in school anyways. I spent more time skipping than actually learning." She laughed at the thought. "I'm sharing more about myself than I should...probably boring you right now."

Elijah shook his head. "You're not boring me," he assured her, smiling brightly at her. "Considering the book I'm reading, I would have thought I'm the one boring you."

Hayley laughed softly. "I guess we're both full of surprises tonight then because you're not boring me either. Even despite the fact that under any other circumstances I would've already thrown that book out the window because it would've frustrated me to no end," she told him. "There's just something about you telling me about it that makes it interesting."

What was with her talkativeness and truth bombs all of a sudden? Usually she didn't talk this much to anyone, even her friends and family. There was no doubt at all in Hayley's mind that Elijah was different than any of the other people she'd met or knew. She could not place her finger on it, though. It was frustrating her to no end to not be able to pin point was the difference was. How was it that he opened her up more than anyone else ever could without even trying to?

"Would you read some of it to me?" Hayley asked, glancing at him.

With an expression of surprise evident on his face, Elijah waited a moment before finally mustering up a reply. "As you wish."

It was Hayley's turn to be surprised by something that he said. His response was a quote from her favorite movie ever. She wasn't much of a fan of romantic movies, but The Princess Bride was an exception; it was a classic. Hayley wondered if Elijah was aware of the double meaning of what he'd said. She didn't take him for someone that watched even a single movie in his lifetime.

" _I'm sure he doesn't know what he said_ ," Hayley thought to herself, confused by the sudden feeling of butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

Not wanting to spend too much time in her head to read too much into the feeling, Hayley smiled at Elijah and urged him to read to her. She settled comfortably back on the couch as he began reading to her. As she listened to the calm and soothing sound of his voice, Hayley felt a wave of contentment wash over her. Her eyes grew too heavy to keep open and gently fluttered shut.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

The next time Hayley opened her eyes, she was met with light rays from the bright morning sun peaking through the curtains. Sitting up, she looked around and found out that she was back in Rebekah's room. She must've fallen asleep on the couch earlier and Elijah brought her here. The sudden realization that to bring her to the room Elijah had to carry her had Hayley's mind spinning. He'd held her in his arms and she wasn't awake to witness it...what was with her luck as of late? Better yet, why was she bummed out that she hadn't been awake when Elijah carried her to the room? What was he unintentionally doing to her?

Before she could ponder on about it any longer, the delicious scent of food made its way to her nose. Her stomach growled and insisted she get up and follow the scent of food. Getting out of bed, Hayley wandered out of the room and down the long hallway. She followed the scent all the way down to the courtyard where she found Freya sitting and eating at one of the tables.

"Is that McDonalds?" Hayley asked, her mouth watering at the sight of the table full of food.

Freya turned towards her with a grin on her face. "I like to splurge sometimes." She laughed, gesturing towards the buffet of food in front of her. "Dig in."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Hayley smiled and rushed to the table, sitting down and wasting no time to start eating anything she could get her hands on. "I know fast food isn't good for me, but why does it have to be so freaking delicious?!"

"The best tasting is usually always the worst when it comes to food," Freya answered, shrugging nonchalantly.

Hayley nodded, agreeing. "Yep, we were pretty much doomed from the start where food is concerned," she said as she practically shoveled fries dipped in Barbecue Sauce into her mouth. "The way the past day or so has been going, I'd say this seems less and less like a hostage situation than it is."

"This is not at all a hostage situation," Freya replied, shaking her head.

Staring at her, Hayley said, "Keeping me here against my will counts as a hostage situation."

"Not exactly," Freya argued. "You seem to be liking it here just fine."

Opening her mouth to respond to Freya, Hayley barely got a word out before a voice came from the top of the stairs behind her.

"After you're finished eating, we are going to take a little trip."

Hayley turned around in her chair to look just as Elijah came down the stairs and made his way over to her.

"Where to?" Hayley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll have to wait and find out," he answered, a hint of mischief apparent in his eyes.

Rolling her eyes, Hayley turned back to face the table. "That is mean." She feigned hurt by him not telling her where they were going.

"I don't like surprises," Hayley announced with a fake pout playing on her lips.

"You can trust me when I say that you'll like this one."

"Wait a second...I thought that I can't leave here," Hayley stated suddenly, wondering how it was possible when she was supposedly spelled to not be able to leave the premises.

Elijah nodded. "Not by yourself."

Hayley tilted her head as she looked at him curiously. "But with you I can?"

Elijah nodded again. "The spell Freya cast is only for you," he told her. "You can pass through the barrier as long as you're touching someone who isn't affected by the spell."

Hayley turned to look at Freya when she cleared her throat.

"Klaus does not know about that part," she told her. "I wasn't completely on board with his plan and I made sure there was a way to get around what he wanted me to do." She smiled. "I told you I was sorry for doing the spell in the first place, and right here and now is your proof."

Hayley smiled back at her. "Um, thank you, I guess."

"We're not all completely blinded by our love for our sister to make such rash decisions against another person who shouldn't be in the middle of everything," Freya admitted.

The sudden reminder of Rebekah had Hayley's guilt rushing back to her. More and more, she was regretting her part in all of this. The closer she became to both Freya and Elijah, the more she was afraid of the truth coming out sometime in the near future. If they ever found out the truth about the situation that they were all in...Hayley didn't even want to think about what would happen then. She could only imagine it; the thought of what could possibly happen then was enough to scare her damn near senseless.


	6. Family Above All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took the longest to write out of all the other chapters due to the fact that it was difficult to figure out what Elijah would tell Hayley and what he wouldn't. After all, he's usually a closed off person when it comes to people he's not too familiar with. Therefore, I wanted to stay true to his nature and not go overboard with the sharing. Hopefully, I managed to do that in this chapter. Fingers crossed!
> 
> Now on with the chapter!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters at times. I only own the plot...mostly.

It was a much welcome and very appreciated surprise for Hayley when Elijah pulled the car into her apartment complex parking lot. Elijah had been right when he told her that she'd like this surprise. This was officially the weirdest kidnapping/hostage situation ever, but Hayley wasn't going to complain about how it was going down. After all, Elijah had said a time or two before that it wasn't exactly a kidnapping/hostage situation where he was concerned. He was proving himself to mean it so far, or at least he was proving that he thought he was proving himself right.

"Remember that we're only here for you to pick up some of your belongings to last you until everything is sorted out," Elijah spoke up, breaking Hayley from her thoughts.

Hayley rolled her eyes as she turned to glance at him. "Okay, dad," she joked not missing the sudden flash of something in Elijah's eyes...distaste at her joke, maybe.

Before she could even think about saying something else, Elijah was out of the car with the door slamming shut behind him.

"What was that about?" Hayley asked herself as she was confused by his sudden, seemingly uncharacteristic from what she'd gathered about him so far, actions.

Pushing her current confusion and curiosity to know what was up with Elijah all of a sudden to the back of her mind, Hayley opened the door and got out of the car. A smile lit up her face as she stared at her apartment building. It had only been a few days or so since she'd last been here, but it sure felt like it had been an eternity.

"Home sweet home," Hayley whispered to herself.

"I don't suppose you have your key on you," Elijah spoke for the first time since in the car.

Hayley turned around to look in the direction of where Elijah currently was. He was standing in front of the car, looking from her to the security lock on the front door of the apartment building and then back to her. In her happiness to be home now, even if just for a little while, Hayley hadn't been thinking about the fact that the apartment building door was always locked for extra security.

Shaking her head, she answered as she shrugged her shoulders, "Nope, no key."

"How do you plan on getting in?" Elijah asked, giving her a curious expression.

Hayley laughed briefly, walking up to the front door with him trailing close behind her. "This is luckily not my first rodeo," she told him, pressing the intercom button for her neighbor's apartment.

A few moments of silence passed before her neighbor's voice came over the intercom.

"Who is it?"

"Hey, it's Hayley," she spoke into the intercom. "I forgot my key again."

"I keep telling you that you need to get a spare," her neighbor said, voice sounding partially annoyed but mostly amused.

Hayley shook her head and rolled her eyes. "And I keep telling you that I will get around to it," she replied. "Will you let me in?"

"Yeah, sure. Come on in."

At the sound of the door buzzing, Hayley backed away from the intercom and opened the door.

Turning her head and grinning at Elijah, Hayley said, "That's how."

Elijah had an amused expression on his face. "You forget your key often?"

Hayley mock glared at him. "No," she answered. "Forgetting my key is often times code for, "I'm too drunk to find my key."

Not waiting for a response from Elijah, Hayley entered the apartment building and headed for the stairs. When she didn't hear Elijah walking behind her, she frowned and stopped walking. Turning around, she gave him a confused look as she took in the sight of him just standing outside the door.

"Are you coming in?" Hayley asked him.

"I can not enter the building without the landlords permission," he informed her.

Hayley laughed briefly.

"Why are you laughing?" Elijah asked curiously.

"Because that was the landlord on the intercom," Hayley answered, crossing her arms. "And she said to come in and you heard it so technically, you were invited in," she explained. "After all, technicalities often times do win," she said as an afterthought. "Now come on."

With that said, she turned back around and continued to the stairs. She smiled once she could hear Elijah's footsteps suddenly following her very closely. It wasn't long before they'd made it to the fourth floor. Hayley walked down to the end of the hall where her apartment was located. Arriving at her door, she stopped and turned back to Elijah.

"I should check and see if my roommate is home," she told him. "He's a werewolf, too, and I'm sure he's aware of what's going on." Hayley chuckled. "Wouldn't want you getting bit now, would we?"

Elijah shook his head. "No, not at all."

With a teasing smile, Hayley turned back and reached up into the light above the door. Feeling around, she soon felt her hand make contact with the spare hideaway key. She grabbed the key and took it out of the light, putting it into the keyhole and turning it. She walked inside the apartment after pushing the door open, frowning at how dark it was inside with all the curtains closed. Turning on the lamp next to the couch, Hayley looked around frowning even more at the sight of the messy apartment. To think that Hayley had actually thought that having a gay roommate would mean a clean apartment. Stupid stereotypes, always getting people's hopes up.

"Aidan!" she exclaimed as she looked in each of the four other rooms in the apartment. "Are you home?!" she called out, getting no reply back.

When she didn't get a response or find him in any of the rooms, Hayley went back to the front door.

"The coast is clear," she said, smiling briefly. "No need to worry about whether you'll get bit or not." Hayley grinned mischievously as a sudden thought entered her mind. "That is unless you manage to piss me off," she said teasingly.

Elijah grinned back, playing along for a moment. "We would not want that."

"No, not at all," Hayley agreed, still grinning.

"Are you going to invite me in?"

"No sister's spell to let you in?" She answered him with her own question since she was still feeling in a teasing mood.

"You must mistake me for my brother."

Hayley shrugged. "Can't be too careful," she replied, leaning against the frame of the door. "I've only known you for a few days or so. I barely know anything at all about you."

Elijah stood there in silence, thinking for a little while before propositioning, "Invite me in, and I'll tell you what you want to know as long as its within my comfort zone of what I'm willing to reveal to you."

Giving it a little thought, Hayley finally nodded her head. "I think that sounds fair." She moved out of the way so he could get by. "Please do come in. And please forgive the mess as well. My roommate isn't the cleanest person in the world."

Once Elijah was inside, Hayley closed the door. She watched as Elijah walked around the living room, checking things out. Her eyes widened in slight embarrassment when she noticed a certain cabinet was open just enough to reveal the names of a few specific DVDs that she did not want Elijah catching sight of. In a flash, she was across the room and slamming the cabinet door shut.

"Is everything okay?" Elijah asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hayley nodded her head and shrugged nonchalantly, leaning back against the cabinet. "Yeah, everything is fine."

Elijah gave her a disbelieving look but said nothing.

Pushing herself away from the video cabinet, Hayley made her way to the kitchen to get a soda from the fridge.

"I should go pack," she said, unscrewing the bottle cap and taking a sip of it. "Then you can tell me a little bit about yourself per our deal."

Something on the coffee table suddenly caught her eye.

"Or better yet..." She started to say, exiting the kitchen and walking back into the living room. "You can tell me about yourself while I pack," she finished, grabbing his arm and steering him towards her bedroom. "Kill two birds with one stone so that we don't waste time."

When she was sure he wouldn't see what she was about to do, Hayley ran over to the coffee table. Reaching down, she picked up her cellphone and silently prayed that it had a good amount of charge still on it. Pressing the button on top, a wave of relief washed over her when she saw that the battery bar was most of the way full.

"Oh, thank god!" she exclaimed to herself, jumping up and down in excitement in her mind.

Quickly turning the volume down completely and setting the ringer to silent, just to be safe, Hayley put her phone into her bra and turned back around to make her way to her bedroom. She couldn't help but laugh when she entered her room to find Elijah standing there looking around awkwardly.

"What? You never been in a woman's bedroom before?" Hayley asked, teasing him; he just made it so easy at times.

"Not like this," he answered, his eyes immediately widening like he hadn't meant to answer the question like that; his response was an obvious slip of the tongue.

Reaching a hand up to her mouth, Hayley tried her best to stifle her laugh. He looked so uncomfortable. It was as clear as day that he was the type who preferred to keep his personal life personal. Hayley would've normally kept teasing a guy in this situation because she didn't usually care about hurting the guy's ego or pride, but this time was not like most times. And Elijah was not like most guys she came into contact with either.

"So I've heard stories about you and your brother not having the best relationship," Hayley said, changing the subject as she walked over to her closet and pulled out her suitcase. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit curious about whether those stories are true or not and why."

Happy and relieved about the change of subject, Elijah replied, "There's a chance that some or parts of those stories are true."

"I'm all ears," Hayley said, looking around the room and trying to think of what she thought she'd need for the next few days (hopefully, fingers crossed) or so. "I'm probably the closest thing you'll ever get to therapy."

Her response gained a chuckle from Elijah.

"You just might be right about that."

"Probably so."

Elijah sighed. "It's a rather long and boring tale that takes place over centuries."

Glancing at him from over her shoulder as she picked up her suitcase and placed it on her bed, Hayley smiled and said, "Well, you're a really good story teller and I'm a really good listener."

"You may come to regret saying that."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"I won't," Hayley assured him with a small smile before turning her attention back to packing.

Elijah didn't speak up for a bit; Hayley assumed that he was trying to decide what parts of the story to tell her. From what she knew of him so far and the stories she'd heard, he wasn't much for opening up to strangers. She was happy to be one of the exceptions because her curiosity of the relationship between Klaus and Elijah was borderline about to drive her crazy.

"You don't have to go into details," Hayley offered, turning around to look at him, crossing her arms loosely over her chest. "The short story will suffice."

She was given a hint of a smile in response. Despite how small it was, it was an obviously contagious smile because Hayley couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Just enough to drown out the curious fire blazing within me." She laughed.

"That sounds fair," he replied, using her words from earlier, his smile growing into a full blown one now.

It was her turn to smile in response to him. Not to sound corny or anything like that, but it felt as if their were suddenly butterflies flying around in her stomach. Hayley had to turn away quickly because she was suddenly getting ideas in her head that would not be polite to act out. Elijah certainly didn't seem like the type of guy who would approve of her sudden ideas. She was not about to chance accidentally ruining whatever it was that was between them.

Elijah then proceeded to tell her the parts that he was comfortable telling of the tale of why he and Klaus were not on the best of terms these days. By the time Elijah was finished with his centuries and centuries long tale, Hayley wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond to that. The main thing she took away from the tale was that for Elijah it was family above all. Even after all the shit that Klaus put him and their siblings through, Elijah stood by him.

Klaus daggering all of his siblings at one point or another throughout the years and carting them around in coffins...Hayley had heard stories and was aware that Klaus was sadistic, but she had never thought he would actually be that sadistic. But she surely did now. Even despite that and everything else that happened at the hands of Klaus to him and his siblings, Elijah still stood by his brother when it came down to it. If that wasn't the actions of someone who was family above all, then Hayley didn't know anything at all.

"You stood by him despite all of that?" Hayley said as more of a statement than a question.

Elijah nodded. "It's family above all."

Hayley had to commend him for such a motto and actually living by it. After all he'd told her about the past, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to keep that motto up if she'd been in Elijah's position. Family above all is one thing if the family member in question is deserving of it. But it's a whole different thing when that family member is someone like Klaus. There's no way she would've been able to do what Elijah had done, standing by Klaus like he had for centuries.

"Oh, god," Hayley thought to herself, biting her lower lip. "What will he do if he finds out what I did?"

"Are you okay?" Elijah asked, breaking Hayley from her thoughts.

Hayley nodded and put on a fake smile. "Yeah, I'm fine," she lied, hoping that he would buy her lie even though she didn't even believe it herself.

Elijah's face gave away the fact that he didn't believe her. Lucky for Hayley, he did not try to press the issue. She was almost completely sure that she would've come clean right then and there if he'd pressed any further. There was just so much guilt that she could take before it became too much for her to handle for any longer than she already had. She was extremely close to her wits end already.

"I think I have everything that I need now," Hayley said, getting off of her bed and picking up her fully packed suitcase. "Oh, wait a second. I almost forgot," she said, rushing to the bathroom once she remembered she needed her toothbrush and toothpaste. "Alright, now I have everything," she reiterated as she came out of the bathroom.

"Here, let me take this out for you," Elijah offered, reaching out to take her suitcase from her.

Their hands touched briefly and Hayley's breath caught in her throat.

"Oh, um...thank you," she replied, pulling her hand away from the suitcase quickly and hightailing it out of the room. "If you develop any feelings for Elijah and he finds out what you did, those feelings would ruin you, Hayley," she scolded herself, doing her best to push any and all feelings she may have been developing so quickly for him deep down inside her. "I'm ready to go when you are."

"It would be best to be going now," Elijah said, exiting the bedroom and walking to the living room. "We don't want Klaus finding out about Freya's loophole."

Hayley nodded her head, agreeing with him. "That is a good point."

Letting Elijah lead the way out of the apartment, Hayley returned the hideaway key to it's rightful place. She locked the apartment door and closed it behind her before following Elijah down the hallway. For the entire walk to the car, Hayley found herself in the midst of an inner battle to keep any feelings she could possibly have for Elijah, or develop in the next few days, at bay.

As if her current predicament wasn't already complicated enough with having to constantly battle her feelings of guilt. Now she would possibly have to add growing feelings for Elijah to the list. If she were to feel something for Elijah, the stakes would grow immensely. It would turn into a case of, If he found out, she could lose him, but if he didn't, she could lose herself. There was no way that this was going to end well for her. Or possibly even for anyone that was involved.


	7. Questions and Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up...Jackson makes an appearance in this chapter. But to work in this story he is who I would have made him if I had written for the show. You'll see what I mean when you get to that point of the chapter.

It was some time later that day when Hayley found herself alone with Freya in the compound. Or, at least, that is what Hayley had thought was the case. After dropping her off, Elijah had some other business to go tend to. Hayley was looking forward to spending the day alone with Freya. There were some questions Hayley wanted to know the answers to and she was hoping that Freya would have those answers.

Walking down the hall to Freya's room, Hayley wasn't expecting to run into anyone. She barely managed to stay up right when she ran into a hard body in the middle of the hall. Hayley was about to apologize when she looked up and realized who she'd run into. Klaus. Yeah, nope. There was no apology coming out of her mouth to him. A sudden desire for Elijah to be there overtook Hayley. She quickly shook it off, still dead set on not letting any feelings for him to develop. It wouldn't end well for anyone to do that, especially not her.

Hayley moved to walk passed Klaus but he quickly stepped in front of her, preventing her from doing so. Shaking her head, Hayley tried again by moving in the opposite direction. He managed to prevent her from doing that, too. She really wasn't in the mood to have to deal with him right now. Hayley tried for a third time to get around him, but it was another failed attempt at getting passed him.

"What do you want?" Hayley asked angrily as she finally looked up at him and glared.

"I want the truth," Klaus answered in a tone that matched her own, the only difference being the hint of a threat behind his. "I do not believe for a second that you're not aware of everything that is currently going on."

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Hayley replied, "One, believe it or not, I do not know everything that goes on." She wasn't exactly lying. "That's why I live in the city and not the bayou," she told him. "I do not want, nor do I care, to know everything." She waited a moment two let that sink in. "Two, don't think for a second that trying to threaten me will get you what you want because it won't."

"Now why is it that I don't believe you?" Klaus asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "On either counts."

Hayley gritted her teeth and huffed in frustration. "I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe it has something to do with you being a complete and total asshole?!"

Klaus opened his mouth to say something back, but was cut off.

"Leave her alone, Klaus," Freya ordered from behind him. "This has nothing to do with her."

Well that actually was not entirely true, but Hayley knew better than to say anything about it.

Klaus turned to face Freya clearly annoyed that she'd interrupted just before he could really try to get the information he wanted from Hayley.

"We all want Rebekah back as soon as possible," Freya said, crossing her arms. "But if you harm Hayley in any way, shape, or form you know we won't get Rebekah back that soon because you will have angered Elijah and paused the rescue operation," she pointed out. "Speaking of Elijah, you're supposed to be meeting him soon, anyways. You better get going if you don't want to be late. We all know how very impatient Elijah gets when he's left waiting for too long."

Klaus thought about her words for a moment before turning and storming off. But not before sending Hayley a parting death glare.

Hayley rolled her eyes. "What a baby," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head. "You would never know that he was thousands of years old."

"Sorry about that," Freya said, making her way over to where Hayley was.

Hayley shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not your fault your brother is an ass."

Freya laughed. "He's not usually that much of an ass," Freya said, pausing to think about what she just said. "Well, not to me, he usually isn't." She laughed again briefly before turning serious. "It's just that out of all of us siblings he and Rebekah are closest while Elijah and I are closer than the rest and both Finn and Kol are more solitary and prefer to be by themselves. To those two we are all siblings, not friends." Freya chuckled at the thought. "Klaus is just overprotective of Rebekah and he feels like he screwed up and let her down since she got taken and he wasn't there to prevent it."

"He sure has a screwed up way of showing it," Hayley said with a groan. "There is such a thing as being overprotective without being an ass about it."

"Klaus has not realized that just yet."

"You can say that again."

"So it seems it's just the two of us here for a while," Freya pointed out, looking around.

Hayley's mood perked up immediately upon realizing that fact.

Seeing this as her chance to get some answers, Hayley said, "I was hoping that we could talk about a few things."

Freya cocked an eyebrow, biting her lower lip. "Sure, I guess we could," she replied curious as to what Hayley wanted to talk about. "What about?"

"About yesterday," Hayley answered simply.

Freya noticeably freezed up some. "What about yesterday?"

"When Elijah returned and came up to your room, I noticed you two having a silent conversation," Hayley admitted slowly beginning to walk down the hallway. "And I get the sense that it had something to do with me...maybe not directly with me, but none-the-less something to do with me."

Freya slowly followed Hayley down the hallway. "Umm...I...it's not..." Freya trailed off not sure how to respond to Hayley's suspicions, which in turn very much confirmed Hayley's suspicions.

Stopping abruptly, Hayley turned her body to face Freya. "What are you and Elijah not telling me?" Hayley demanded to know.

"It's not really something for me to tell you," Freya told her, looking anywhere but at her. "You should talk to Elijah about it. He knows much more than I do."

Before Hayley could say anything in return, Freya practically hightailed it down the hallway to her room. The door slammed almost violently behind her.

"Well, that went well," Hayley said out loud, her voice conveying her frustration due to the fact that she was left with way more questions than answers. "What the hell do I do now?"

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

Deciding to give Freya some time to herself, Hayley made her way back to Rebekah's room. She really didn't like staying in there, or even being in there, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. Either she grinned and bared it or the truth would end up coming out because acting fishy would make the siblings curious as to why she was acting how she was.

Hayley walked into the room and closed the door behind her. It was only her and Freya in the compound at the moment, which gave her the perfect opportunity to make a phone call. The good thing about Freya being a witch is that she didn't have super hearing. Hayley could make a call without having to worry about Freya or anyone else overhearing.

Grabbing her phone from her out of her bra, Hayley sat down on the bed and dialed her brother's phone number. He answered the call between the second and third ring.

"Hayley!" he exclaimed from the other end of the line. "Are you okay? How are you calling? What's going on?!"

"Whoa, Jack! Whoa, calm down before you give yourself an aneurysm." Hayley laughed into the phone. "I'm fine. I have my phone. It's a long story."

"How do you have your phone with you?"

"I snuck it out with me when I was at my apartment earlier," Hayley answered, feeling rather proud of herself for accomplishing such a feat.

A moment of silence fell on the other end of the phone.

"Wait," he paused. "You were at your apartment earlier today?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes, Elijah took me to get a few of my things," Hayley answered, nodding her head even though he couldn't see her doing it.

"You were at your apartment and now you're back at their place again?!"

"Yep, it's complicated," Hayley answered with a sigh. "I came back here willingly."

"What?! Why?! Are you stupid?! Have you lost your ever loving mind?!"

"It's partially my fault that I'm even in this situation right now," Hayley reminded him.

"You're willingly staying there now out of guilt?" he guessed correctly.

Hayley breathed in a deep breath and let it out. "For the most part," she answered honestly.

"For the most part?"

Hayley shook her head. "It is not important," she told him. "I need you to do something for me."

"Yeah, anything. What do you need me to do?"

"Try to convince mom and dad to give them their sister back."

"Hayley, you know that..."

Hayley cut him off, and as a way to not make him suspicious as to her true reason for her sudden change in heart, she said, "The sooner they get their sister back, the sooner I am free and I can get rid of this horrible guilt that I'm constantly feeling."

He sighed on the other end of the phone. "Fine, I will see what I can do," he finally gave in. "Although, I don't know what kind of progress I will be able to make considering how angry and annoyed the two Mikaelsons who have shown up here quite a few times now have made mom and dad."

"Wait, what?" Hayley asked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"They've shown up every day since you were taken trying to negotiate the trade between you and their sister."

Hayley's eyes widened. "Is that where Elijah's been disappearing to every day?" Hayley asked under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just...um...nothing," she replied, not sure what to think about anything right now. "I have to go. I will talk to you later when I get the chance again," Hayley said, hanging up immediately and putting her phone back into her bra in an almost robotic manner.

Could that be what Elijah wasn't telling her? He was negotiating along with Klaus now? What else could Elijah be keeping from her? Did he really know more than he was letting on? Could he be gaining her trust just to keep her from asking questions and trying to find out more? What the hell was going on around here? To think, Hayley was the one who thought she was hiding things from Elijah. She may not want to admit it, but it seemed like it was turning out that the situation may actually be a two way street after all.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

If Hayley had to guess how long it'd been since her phone call, she'd say it felt like an eternity even though it had really only been a couple of hours. Ever since she hung up the phone, she'd been driving herself insane trying to figure some things out. She continuously found herself with more questions than answers. It was extremely frustrating.

Between her secrets and now apparently maybe Elijah's, Hayley felt like she was losing her mind. Elijah had been treating her with nothing but respect since she'd first encountered him. At first she'd thought it was out of the noble heart of his. But now she didn't know what to think. Was he treating her respectfully for the reason she originally thought? Or was there more to how he was treating her?

Deciding that she needed to get some fresh air...well, air other than the air in the room...Hayley got off the bed and exited the room. She leaned back against the door once she closed it and shook her head. She felt like she was starring in a water downed version of a Spanish soap opera; a supernatural Spanish soap opera.

Hayley pushed herself off of the wall and turned to go down the hall to Freya's room. If she ever wanted to get some answers, she was going to have to lay off of Freya for a while. So for now, she was perfectly content with just hanging out. Once things were back to normal again...as much as they ever really were...then Hayley would try once again to get some answers.

Arriving at Freya's door, Hayley reached up and knocked on it. She waited a few moments until she heard Freya faintly tell her to come in before twisting the knob and pushing the door open. Entering the room, she silently walked over to the bed and sat down in the spot that she'd deemed hers for the foreseeable future while she was stuck there. Positioning herself so that she was facing Freya, Hayley opened her mouth to say something. Freya beat her to it.

"If you're planning on apologizing to me, don't," Freya told her sternly.

Hayley snapped her mouth closed right away.

"There's no reason to apologize to me." Freya shrugged. "I would have done the same thing if I were you," she admitted with a sigh. "Knowing that someone else knows something but not knowing it yourself or being able to be told what it is...it can be frustrating."

Hayley nodded her head, agreeing with Freya. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"I can't tell you exactly what it is but..." Freya trailed off, trying to figure out what to say. "I can tell you that it's something that you could misunderstand at first."

Hayley crinkled her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you do ask Elijah and he does tell you the truth...make sure that you don't rush to any snap judgments before you find out the whole truth."

Hayley still didn't understand what Freya was saying, but she nodded her head anyways when Freya asked her if she understood what she was saying. In hindsight, it would turn out that she should've had Freya explain herself clearly.

"You don't have any plans or anything do you?" Hayley asked curiously, deciding to do something to help distract herself from everything going on.

Freya shrugged. "Not that I know of."

"Good. I could use a distraction right now." Hayley smiled. "I have to go to the bathroom, so while I'm doing that you can put on Parks and Rec and we can pick up where we left off."

Freya smiled back at her. "Fine by me."

"I'll be back," Hayley said, standing up and making her way out of the room.

 

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

Once she was finished in the bathroom, Hayley began to make her way back to Freya's room. She was about halfway to her room when thanks to her wolf hearing, she picked up on Klaus and Elijah's voices coming from the study. They seemed to be in the midst of a rather heated conversation. Before Hayley was even aware of what she was doing, her feet seemed to suddenly have taken on a mind of their own and were leading her straight towards the study.


	8. Trust No More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, this chapter is a bit on the angsty side so brace yourselves.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters at times. I only own the plot...mostly.

After giving it some very deep thought, Hayley at first decided that she wasn't going to eavesdrop on their conversation. But then when it came down to it, her curiosity turned out to be strong enough that she didn't put up much of a fight to not walk away. Laboring her breath as much as she could so that her breathing wouldn't give her away, Hayley leaned back against the wall next to the door and listened intently.

"Niklaus, you are taking this way out of proportion," Elijah scolded his younger brother.

"I can't begin to describe how appalled I am that you gave her the run of the place," Klaus hissed at Elijah, pacing back and forth across the study floor.

"Believe me, you do not have to describe how you feel. The way you're acting as if you're a spoiled child is proof enough of it." Elijah sighed, clearly frustrated with his brothers misplaced aggravation. "She is stuck here in the compound. She isn't going anywhere," Elijah pointed out. "The least we can do is not keep her confined to only Rebekah's room as well. There is no telling how long this will last. It would not be healthy for her to be stuck in one room for however long this turns out to take."

Hayley couldn't help but smile at Elijah seeming to care about her health. It sent a warm, fuzzy feeling throughout her. Immediately, Hayley caught onto what was happening and she quickly tried to forget the feeling. All of these sneaky feelings were going to get her into so much more trouble than she was already in if she didn't keep them at bay. Pushing the feelings aside for what felt like the hundredth time already, Hayley went back to focusing on her eavesdropping.

She quickly realized that she'd missed some of the conversation. She hoped that whatever she had missed wasn't an important part in their argument.

"I tell her everything," she heard Elijah say.

" _What does he mean by he tells me everything? I don't recall him telling me anything about what's going on,"_ Hayley thought to herself. " _I bet it would clear up the confusion if I actually knew what they were talking about right now."_ Hayley rolled her eyes, annoyed by herself. _"I am literally the worst eavesdropper ever."_

"You tell her _everything_?" Klaus asked in a challenging tone of voice. "So you've told her about your part in all of this?"

"His part in this?" Hayley mouthed silently, eyes wide. " _Do not tell me my brother and my suspicions are right._ "

"Only the things that she should know," Elijah said, his voice clearly revealing that he was keeping from telling the whole truth...whatever that was.

Klaus chuckled, the chuckle sounding completely evil. "Then I guess it's safe to say you told her about you being out in the bayou with me every time you're not here," Klaus said assumingly.

"Jack was telling the truth," Hayley said to herself, feeling her stomach drop in the same manner as it would if she were currently riding on a rollercoaster going through all the motions.

Elijah spoke in a warning tone that sent shivers down Hayley's spine. "Niklaus, don't."

Hayley couldn't believe what she is hearing. It seemed like as of now her suspicions about Elijah were true. No, they couldn't be. Elijah wasn't as manipulative as his brother, was he? With the way he'd been treating her since the beginning, she could not bring herself to believe it. Although, from what she was hearing right now, she'd probably have to learn to accept it as the truth.

Klaus ignored Elijah's warning and continued on. "What? You just said you tell her everything. Therefore, you must've told her about you being there with me when on two separate occasions we've come face to face with her parents."

He was there? He met with her parents? He never told her any of that.

Confirmation that Elijah was clearly hiding something important from her, check.

Confirmation that Elijah was much more like his brother than she had thought he was, check.

"She does not need t..."

Pushing herself abruptly away from the wall, she quickly turned to go back to Freya's room before Elijah finished his sentence. She had heard more than enough as far as she was concerned. What she heard was all it took for her to realize that maybe, just maybe, she had given Elijah way too much credit. No matter how he acted towards her, when it truly came down to it, Elijah was still a Mikaelson; he was still cut from part of the same cloth that Klaus was.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

Hayley returned to Freya's room in complete silence. She was sure that Freya had sensed her mood change because Freya sat up in her bed the moment she saw her. Freya looked at her with a concerned expression on her face.

"Are you okay, Hayley?" she asked as she moved to get up, her concern not only evident on her face but also in her voice.

Nodding her head in an almost mechanical manner, Hayley said in a tone that was just above a whisper, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Her response was a blatant lie and she knew it. And Freya knew it just as well.

The fact that Hayley was taking what she'd just learned so hard was somewhat confusing. She had been so sure that she'd successfully pushed her possibly there and rapidly developing feelings for Elijah deep down. But with how hurt she felt by it seeming like Elijah had been lying to her about something big, she was beginning to think that she didn't push them down deep enough.

"You're not okay," Freya said suddenly as she came to stand in front of her. "What's wrong?"

Hayley shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing is wrong," she insisted.

Freya gave her a pointed look that spoke volumes.

Sighing, Hayley had to bite back the tears that suddenly filled her eyes. "It's just that I guess I've finally realized that first impressions are not always the most important," Hayley said quietly. "They are not even always the truth."

Freya frowned, not sure what to make from what Hayley was saying to her.

"I need some fresh air... _actual_ fresh air," Hayley told Freya, looking up at her. "Is there anywhere I can go to get it?"

"The roof," Freya answered immediately as she nodded her head. "The shield prevents you from leaving the premises alone, but the roof is a part of the premises so you can go there without an escort with you."

Hayley nodded. "Thank you," she said before turning and quickly hightailing it to the roof.

She _needed_ fresh air, yesterday.

Just as she opened the door to the roof, Hayley heard voices below. She listened long enough to hear Freya tell someone, most likely Elijah, that Hayley's mood had changed drastically between the time she'd left her room and returned a few minutes later. Shaking her head, Hayley walked out onto the roof and shut the door behind her.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

How could she have been so naïve and completely stupid to have trusted him from the first moment she'd properly met him? Apparently she had been so overtaken by a guy treating her with respect and not expecting anything from her for once that she allowed herself to overlook who Elijah truly was. She'd completely bypassed thinking of the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Elijah was much more like his brother than he said or than he seemed.

Hayley was aware that she didn't have too much of a leg to stand on since she was keeping a big secret from Elijah as well, but still. Two wrongs surely did not make a right. She could no longer let her guilt of what she had done control her perception. Feeling guilty was healthy in the sense that it meant she was human. But feeling guilty wasn't enough of a reason to let herself be fooled by anyone else.

The sound of the roof door opening and closing interrupted Hayley from her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Elijah asked her when she didn't turn around immediately.

"I overheard you and Klaus," she told him quietly.

There was a moment of pause before he said anything back.

"How much did you hear?" he asked hesitantly.

Spinning around with her arms crossed tightly over her chest, Hayley glared at him. "Just enough for me to realize that all of this time I have been letting my guilt for what I did cause me to overlook the things you've done that I had every right to be angry at you for!" Hayley exclaimed, shaking her head as she let out an almost manic laugh. "As it turns out, at this very moment, I'm not the only guilty one present."

"Hayley, if you would allow me the chance, I can explain everything," Elijah spoke, taking a step towards her.

Hayley shook her head and stepped back a step. "I'm not even sure if I could believe anything that comes out of your mouth right now," she admitted to him. "You say that you tell me everything..." She paused as she blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.

She wasn't sure where the tears were coming from. Why would she be crying over feeling betrayed by Elijah? She'd only known the guy for a few days. Surely it had nothing to do with feelings... Maybe it was just based on the fact that she'd thought she could actually trust him, that he was different from other guys. Yeah, that's what it was. She'd go with that.

"But then you follow that up with, only what I _should_ know." She finished her sentence with a scoff as anger suddenly took her back over again. "Either you tell me everything, or you don't. There is no grey area!"

"Hayley..." Elijah didn't get to say anything else before Hayley cut him off.

"What makes you think for even a second that you can decide what I should and shouldn't know?!" She asked angrily. "I deserve to know everything that has anything to do with me!"

"Hayley, please, just let me explain everything to you," Elijah tried again, taking another step closer to her.

Hayley turned away from him, not being able to look at him any longer. She wasn't in the mood to look at of hear him out at that point. It also helped that a part of her knew that saying anything else to him right now in her state of emotions would only lead to more regrets on her part.

"Just don't, Elijah." She sighed, shaking her head and wiping harshly at her face to collect the stray tears. "I can't even...I just need to be alone right now," she whispered. "Please, just go."

Hayley could feel her anger slowly dissipating and turning into sadness again. Her eyes were becoming heavy with tears that were begging to be let out. There was no way she would cry in front of Elijah. Never had she cried in front of a guy, and she wouldn't be starting now either.

Much to Hayley's relief as well as minimal disappointment, when she turned around, he was no where to be seen. Well at least there was still one thing different about Elijah compared to other guys...he knew when he wasn't wanted and made himself scarce without putting up a fight. Most other guys would have had to be told once or twice more, or a few tens of times more, before they got the memo and finally left. But that's one of the things that made Elijah different than most other guys. He got it.


	9. Clearing the Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the angsty content of the last two chapters, here's a slightly longer than usual chapter. Hopefully it makes up for the previous angst. Enjoy!

A faint knock on the bedroom door arose Hayley from her slumber. Groaning, she lifted her head from her pillow and looked over at the alarm clock on the bedside table. She frowned upon seeing the time lit up in bright green numbers, 7:05am. How could anyone function that early in the morning? Being a bartender meant she was usually just getting to sleep around that time.

With a sigh, Hayley rolled over onto her back and stared up at the blank ceiling. What she'd overheard and learned the night before was still clear in her mind. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Elijah had kept her in the dark about his true involvement in what was going on. He had been nice to her from the very beginning. But that must've been to keep her from catching on to what was really happening. How could she have been so naïve to have trusted him, especially given the circumstances?

Having not heard another knock other than the one that had woken her up, Hayley rolled out of bed. She lazily made her way across the room to the door. When she opened it, no one was there. Walking out into the hall, she looked both ways and still saw no one. Hayley shrugged her shoulders and then turned to head back into the bedroom.

As she was about to walk back into the room something white on the floor caught her eye. Upon further inspection, she realized the flash of white was an envelope. Curiously, she bent down to pick it up and then went back into the room, closing the door behind her. She walked over to the bed and sat down, opening the envelope. She pulled out the letter that was inside and opened it.

She was immediately drawn to the beauty of the handwriting that appeared before her. The handwriting was probably by far the most, dare she say beautiful handwriting she'd ever seen before. It looked as if it had come straight from the 1800's or some decade long ago. It was elegant, just like everything else was about Elijah. A small smile made it's way onto Hayley's face before she could stop it. She was hurt by and also somewhat mad at him, but she could still bring a smile to her face just by thinking about him.

Damn it, this wasn't good. If she could smile just from thinking about him...her feelings were probably stronger than she'd ever intended them to be. How the heck was she going to keep herself controlled? She couldn't let feelings get in the way. Not under these circumstances anyways. She had to keep her confusing feelings for him at bay. They could not go any further than they already had.

Speaking of which, his letter probably didn't really help her cause any.

_Hayley,_

_Although we're not on the best of terms currently,_

_I would like to request your company at dinner tonight._

_I have a place already in mind for the occasion._

_I'll understand if you don't want to._

_But if you do, meet me down in the courtyard at 7:00 sharp tonight._

_Elijah_

Hayley chuckled upon reading the last line. _7:00 sharp._ Elijah, ever so prompt.

Sighing, Hayley reread the letter and placed it on the bed beside her. She wasn't sure what she should do? He had been very vague in his letter as to what the dinner was about. But Hayley had a feeling he wanted to explain himself. To be fair, she hadn't given him much of a chance the night before. But at the same time, what if there was yet another ulterior motive behind his manners?

Good thing for Hayley, she had just under twelve hours to decide whether she'd accompany him or not. She was sure to be in for a crazy twelve hours.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

As she had expected, those twelve hours had been especially crazy for Hayley. She'd talked herself into and out of going so many times. She lost track of the count at seven times each way. But eventually she finally decided that she'd go with him. Freya's words from before had been the deciding factor for her.

_"Make sure that you don't rush to any snap judgments before you find out the whole truth."_

Hayley had definitely failed at following her advice the first time around. The least she could do was heed her advice now that she had the chance to again. Maybe things would turn out to not be as bad as they seemed. Maybe Elijah really was the way he acted towards her. Maybe she had just jumped to the wrong conclusions. Anything was possible.

Glancing herself once over in the mirror, something she never did before, Hayley took a deep breath. She hoped she wasn't underdressed or too overdressed. She still had no idea where they were going. Was it somewhere quiet? Was it somewhere fancy? Something told her it'd probably be the latter, which is why she picked out the most dressy outfit she could find. Her outfit consisted of a red shirt that hugged her body just right, a pair of faded black skinny jeans, and her favorite pair of Uggs.

Looking in the mirror behind her, she saw the reflection of the time. _6:57pm._ She was cutting it close. It would be seven sharp by time she walked out of the room, down the hall, and down the stairs. It was now or never. Taking another deep breath, Hayley walked out of the room and made her way downstairs.

Hayley stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stood there. Elijah had turned to face her as soon as she'd hit the bottom step. Hayley's breath caught in her throat as she took in his attire. For the most part, he still wore his per usual attire. Except this time, he had passed on wearing his suit jacket.

Hayley had to mentally slap herself to make herself stop ogling him. She had to remind herself that she was supposed to be hurt by and angry with Elijah. There was no way she was going to be one of those woman who forgive a guy just because he's so pretty she could pull a Rachel and cry.

"You look nice," Elijah complimented, smiling at her.

She briefly smiled back. "So do you," she replied. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Elijah grinned as he shook his head. "No, but I'm sure you're going to like it," he told her confidentially, offering his arm to her.

Hayley eyed him warily, but then she remembered she couldn't leave the compound without his assistance.

"We'll see," Hayley said, looping her arm into his and walking with him out the door.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

"This place is expensive!" Hayley shrieked as she looked at the menu. Since when did Chinese food cost an arm and a leg? "I can not let you do this," she said, shaking her head at Elijah.

"Money is not an issue," he assured her, insisting that she go ahead and order anything she wanted from the menu no matter the cost.

Hayley snorted. "Maybe it isn't an issue for you, but for me it is," she told him, closing the menu with a snap and throwing it onto the table. "I do not like it when people try to give me handouts."

Elijah wore a semi amused expression on his face. "This is not a handout." He shook his head at the look she gave him then. "Consider this an apology for you being in this current situation when things could've gone a different, much more intelligent way."

Opening her mouth to continue on with the argument, Hayley stopped herself and gave in to his insistence. She picked the menu back up and opened it, bringing it up so that her face was out of view of Elijah.

If only he knew the truth about how involved and guilty in all of this she really was. The thought of him finding out the truth had her stomach doing nervous somersaults. In the beginning, the only reason Hayley didn't want Elijah finding out the truth was because she was afraid of not making it out of the situation alive. If she lost the trust of one of the only two people who currently didn't wish to see her harmed, that would've been very bad for her.

But as of now? Now it was different. It was no longer solely about whether or not she would make it out of this alive. There was another reason that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Or better yet, another idea that she knew was probably the reason but was afraid to admit out loud. That other reason, deep down, was sitting in her gut and she very well knew what it was.

Hayley thankfully didn't get much more time to make herself panic more. The waiter came over and took their order. Hayley was grateful when Elijah ordered something as well. The last thing she wanted was to be in a Twilight situation where he just sat there and watched her eat. She sure as hell was no Bella.

After the waiter walked away, no time was wasted in getting straight to the important subject.

"If you would please, tell me all that you heard last night," Elijah said, clasping his hands together on the table in front of him as he waited patiently for her to speak.

In response, Hayley gave him a quick run down of what all she'd heard.

Elijah nodded his head, leaning closer to her. "If you had stuck around long enough to hear the rest of my sentence we wouldn't have had that somewhat of an argument back at the compound last night," Elijah pointed out.

Hayley opened her mouth to reply, but Elijah held up his hand and she promptly closed her mouth.

"Please let me finish explaining my side to you first."

Hayley nodded her head and stayed quiet, waiting to hear the rest of his explanation.

"The rest of what I said the other night was that you didn't need to know that there are certain demands your parents are making before they are willing to trade Rebekah for you," Elijah informed her, looking disgusted by what he was telling her.

With a quick roll of her eyes, Hayley muttered under her breath, "Not surprising."

Elijah frowned. "Why are you not surprised?"

Hayley shrugged her shoulders before she answered him truthfully without holding anything back. Sometimes getting the sad and unfavorable truth off your chest could be a good thing for you to do. "Don't get them wrong, my parents love me, but...I feel like they've always preferred my brother over me." Hayley sighed sadly. "I think that it is partly because, unlike me, he doesn't rebel against them and their rules. I've always been the one who wants to do the opposite of what they expect of me. Hence, I am living in the city and not still in the bayou with them."

"I see," Elijah said, his voice full of understanding.

"Every family has their golden child, right?" Hayley asked jokingly, shrugging her shoulders and chuckling.

Elijah nodded his head in agreement.

"I know I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions before I heard everything," she paused, looking anywhere but at Elijah. "But just the thought that you could actually be as much of a manipulative ass as Klaus..." Hayley trailed off, the rest of her sentence was easy to figure out.

"We've established by now many times over that I am not like my brother," Elijah stated to which Hayley nodded her head in agreement. "I mean, not in that way at least."

Hayley laughed. "Yes, I know that's true."

"Good." Elijah smiled for a moment before taking on a more serious expression. "Now that we both agree on that, you can be honest when replying to my next statement."

Hayley leaned forward and took a sip of her drink as she promised him, "I promise you that I will be as honest as I can be."

Accepting that as a proper response to what he'd said, Elijah stated more so that asked her, "You're aware of the reasons why you are in your current situation, correct?"

Hayley's mouth gaped open slightly. This was the first time that Elijah had directly out loud mentioned anything to her about the Rebekah situation. Yet he was still not bringing her up directly. She wasn't sure if that was a part of him being noble, or if there was some other reason that he wouldn't out right mention Rebekah to her. It could be either/or when it came to him.

She waited a proper amount of time before nodding her head and replying with a quiet, "Yes, I am aware."

A moment of silence fell between the two of them.

"If I could change what happened I would in a heartbeat," she admitted, the guilt she was feeling only being half the reason she was feeling the way she was. "But, I can't."

"If you talked to your parents to try to keep this from ending in a bloodbath..." Elijah started to suggest.

Hayley cut him off with a dark chuckle. "They would not listen to a word I say." Hayley scoffed, shaking her head, leaning closer to him. "If they ever listened to what I said then I wouldn't currently be in a screwed up arranged engagement that I don't want any parts of."

Elijah's face took on a shocked expression at her sudden revelation. It was obvious that he had not the slightest idea about the arranged predicament Hayley was in now. "I..." he trailed off.

"You don't have to say anything about it," she told him, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "It's not important and I'm not in need of a pity party."

Before Elijah could say anything in reply, the waiter arrived at the table with their food.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

It was just after midnight when they'd arrived back at the compound. After dinner, at the insistence of Hayley, they'd taken a night time stroll in the park. Hayley enjoyed the hours of fresh air after what felt like an eternity without it. That, and she also really enjoyed Elijah's company. It was so easy to feel like she could be her true self around him. She didn't have to mold herself into the perfect daughter, or the perfect woman...none of that nonsense. She was just herself when she was around him, just Hayley.

"Thank you for dinner and setting everything straight," Hayley said with a smile as they walked down the hallway towards the room she was staying in. "And I am sorry for going off on you last night. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like I did."

Elijah shook his head. "No need to apologize," he assured her. "I would presume that anyone in your position would've reacted the same way."

Hayley nodded. "Yeah, maybe," she agreed, stopping outside the bedroom door. "Thank you again for dinner," Hayley said, her eyes on their own accord flickering down to his lips and back up to his own eyes. "It was nice to actually get to eat my Chinese food this time."

Elijah chuckled. "Happy to be able to assist you."

"Well, goodnight," Hayley told him, her voice slightly louder than a whisper.

Elijah's voice got as quiet as Hayley's when he replied, "Goodnight, Hayley."

Hayley didn't miss how Elijah's own eyes directed themselves to her lips before settling on her eyes.

"I should..." Hayley trailed off, motioning her head to the door behind her.

"Yes, of course," Elijah agreed. "You should..."

Hayley's breath caught in her throat as she felt magnetically pulled closer to him. He must've felt it too because he was coming closer to her as well. But before they could get close enough for anything to happen, Hayley turned her head quickly and sneezed. Once and then twice, effectively breaking what trance the two of them had been in. She hoped she wasn't coming down with something. The last thing she needed was to get sick now.

"Alright, well goodnight," Hayley said quickly, avoiding eye contact as she turned and rushed into the room.

She slammed the door behind her and leaned back against it, sliding down to sit on the floor.

" _That wasn't awkward, nor was it embarrassing_ ," Hayley thought to herself, slapping her forehead with the palm of her hand. " _Nope, not at all._ "

Damn it. She had almost kissed Elijah. Thank god she'd sneezed when she did. Kissing him wouldn't have exactly helped matters in any way. It was becoming more and more obvious that she'd gone and done the exact thing she was the most afraid of. She'd developed some uncontrollable feelings for Elijah. Those feelings could only be pushed deep down for so long before they'd be too strong for her to fight. And it was becoming clear that the time for that was fast approaching.


	10. If He Sticks Around, He's A Keeper

A groan tore from Hayley's throat as she rolled over onto her back. She kicked the covers off of herself, feeling tempted to shuck her clothes off next. Keeping her eyes closed, she tried to will herself back to sleep. But after a few minutes of laying there, still awake, she gave up. With a sigh, she sat up slowly and then got out of bed.

Standing up, she managed to take just a few steps forward before she lost her balance. She fell back, expecting to hit the bed but instead she hit the floor. Her butt was going to be bruised for sure. She could already feel the soreness creeping up on her. Well didn't that just suck.

Not even a few seconds later, there was a frantic knock on the bedroom door.

"Hayley, is everything alright?" Elijah's concerned voice came from the other side of the door.

Hayley opened her mouth to respond but all that came out was a pitiful moan of discomfort followed by a sneeze.

"I'm coming in," Elijah said, twisting the door knob and pushing it open.

Hayley moaned again as she slowly tilted her head to look up at Elijah. "I think I may have the flu." She frowned at the hoarse sound of her voice.

"It would appear so," Elijah agreed, making his way over to where she was.

"Help me up please," Hayley said as she reached her hands up.

Elijah gave her a small smile before taking her hands and gently pulling her up off the floor.

Hayley swayed from side to side as if she was going to fall again. But thankfully Elijah grabbed her by her waist and steadied her before she did. If he hadn't been there, there was no doubt in Hayley's mind that she would've fallen over again.

"Thank you," Hayley mumbled.

"Don't mention it," Elijah replied.

"Can you steer me to the bathroom?" Hayley asked as she suddenly remembered the reason she'd gotten out of bed in the first place for. "I feel like I got run over by a bus." She moaned as Elijah led her to the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, Elijah flicked on the lights for her.

Hayley's eyes widened as she caught site of herself in the bathroom mirror, bracing herself against the counter. "I look like I got run over by a bus, too!"

"I think you still look as beautiful as ever," Elijah told her, coming up behind her and placing a hand on the small of her back.

Hayley caught his gaze in the mirror. She frowned. "You're just saying that," she replied. "There's no need to lie."

Elijah shook his head. "I truly mean it, Hayley," he insisted.

"Well aren't you just so sweet then?" she asked sarcastically.

She didn't mean to sound like a bitch, but being sick always brought that side out of her. Hayley had never been the type of person who ever liked being cared for. She was always used to being independent and doing things on her own. But when she was sick, she had no choice but to take any help that was offered to her. Therefore, she could be quite the bitch during that time period.

"I think I can take it from here," Hayley said as she slowly turned around.

Elijah narrowed his eyes before it dawned on him. "Oh, right! Of course," he replied, nodding his head. "I'll just be right outside the door if you need me."

Hayley tried to smile but her face just wasn't feeling up to it. "Okay."

Once he closed the door behind him, Hayley went about her business.

Afterwards, Hayley made her way back into the bedroom. Elijah guided her back over the bed and helped her get situated.

"It had to have been that damn customer from last week who came in to the bar sick. Damn him!" Hayley whined as she kicked off her covers not even seconds after Elijah placed them over her. "I'm not ever suppose to get sick like this. I usually have a great and strong immune system."

Elijah gave her an apologetic look. "Not this time apparently."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Hayley snapped and then immediately regretted it.

Elijah's face dropped.

"Sorry, I did not mean it like that," Hayley apologized right away. "I can't help it. I get testy whenever I get sick."

Elijah brushed it off, shaking his head. "It's been a long while since I had to take care of someone who was sick, but I still recall some of what I went through then."

Hayley's eyebrow rose. Her curiosity was going to get the better of her. "Who and when?" she wondered out loud.

Elijah turned away from her and went to the bathroom.

For a second, Hayley thought she may have overstepped Elijah's boundaries that he'd mentioned at her apartment. But then Elijah came back from the bathroom, a glass full of water in hand.

"Her name was Celeste," Elijah said as he set the glass of water on the nightstand.

"Who was she?" Hayley asked curiously as she moved around to find a comfortable spot, but wasn't having any luck.

Elijah sat down on the bed next to her without saying a word, seemingly ignoring her question.

Hayley was curious to know more about this woman he mentioned. But she didn't want to ask the wrong question and have him shut her out. Therefore, she kept her mouth shut and didn't ask her question again. Once was enough. Twice would've been overkill.

Moving closer to where Elijah was sitting, Hayley sighed a sigh of content as she finally found a comfortable position curled up against him. His body tensed at first but eventually he settled and relaxed. He even went as far as wrapping an arm around her.

"She was one of the very few woman I ever came to love in my numerous lifetimes," he confessed after a while of complete silence.

Hayley's eyes widened slightly. She hadn't expected him to answer her question when he didn't answer right away. And that's why she was pleasantly surprised that Elijah has opened up to her again.

"Who was the other one?" Hayley asked without thinking.

Elijah tensed up against her once again.

"Oh! Nevermind. I'm sorry if I...don't answer that," Hayley said quickly, moving to sit up a little too fast. "Oh damn!" she exclaimed as the movement caused a bout of dizziness and nausea to wash over her. "I'm gonna be sick!"

Before her mind could catch onto what was happening, she felt Elijah's arms wrap around her followed by a breeze of air. No sooner had he placed her down in front of the toilet did everything she ate the night before start coming up. She could faintly feel Elijah standing behind her, gathering her hair and holding it out of the way for her. If the circumstances had been different, she may have actually dwelled on his actions for a while. Speaking of which, Hayley was sure she'd be feeling embarrassed when she beat this sickness. Elijah had literally just seen her at her worst, and yet he stuck around to help her. Could he get any better?

Hayley sat there on the cold tiled floor, holding the toilet bowl for God knows how long even after she'd emptied all of her stomach's contents. She wasn't taking any chances of ending back up in there if she didn't have to. This was not her ideal way of spending any day. She'd take almost anything else over this.

"I need mouthwash," Hayley mumbled while repositioning herself into a ball on the floor; she rolled onto her side so that her cheek was pressed against the cold tile, acting as a cold compress.

She could hear shuffling above her and assumed it was Elijah getting her mouthwash. Moments later, she felt a hand on her upper arm, causing her to open her eyes slightly. Elijah was kneeling down next to her, a small cup of mouthwash in his hand.

Hayley offered him a very faint smile.

"You'll need to sit up," he told her, guiding her up into a sitting position. "Here, easy," he said, lifting the cup to her mouth and tilting it as she took it the liquid into her mouth.

She swished it around for as long as her sickness would allow her to before spitting it back into the cup. It wasn't as satisfying as brushing her teeth, but at least her breath didn't smell like throw up anymore.

"If I ever see that guy again, I'm going to punch him," Hayley threatened half-heartedly.

Elijah chuckled. "I don't doubt you will."

"This sucks," Hayley muttered as she returned to her previous position on the floor.

"Alright, up you go," Elijah said, leaning down to place one arm under her knees and the other around her back.

Hayley frowned. "But I feel just fine right here," she told him defiantly.

"You'll feel better in bed," he pointed out.

"Maybe," Hayley argued. "Only if I can use you as a pillow again," she whispered before she could stop herself.

Elijah laughed. "I think we can arrange for that."

"Then I guess the bed will do," Hayley sighed as she felt herself be lifted up.

Moments later, she was back in bed.

"Covers or no?" Elijah asked.

As she was about to answer, a coughing fit took over. She shook her head no to his question instead.

"No covers it is."

Once her coughing fit had died down, Hayley patted the bed next to her. "Pillow," she said, giving him her best puppy dog impression.

He shook his head, chuckling. "Only for you," he said so quiet that if it weren't for her wolf hearing, Hayley wouldn't have heard it; If her brain hadn't been so fuzzy, she would've most likely questioned him about what he meant.

Hayley felt the bed dip next to her and moved over to snuggle up against Elijah again. Once she found a position that was comfortable, she yawned.

"Tell me a story," Hayley said, leaning her head back to look up at him.

"What kind of a story?" he questioned curiously.

Hayley shrugged. "Whatever you want. You pick."

Elijah made a "hmm" noise. "Okay, I've got one."

Hayley snuggled back against him as he started telling the story.

The story sounded very fairytale like, but at the same time it clearly wasn't. It was not the kind of story she expected for Elijah to tell. Or at least not out loud to anybody. But then again, he was full of surprises. So maybe it wasn't so shocking that he'd tell such a story to her. Either way, she enjoyed it and hung on to his every word.

Right before she fell asleep to the sound of his voice, she realized that the story he told sounded oddly familiar. And familiar it was, because the story he told was the story she was currently living. Except for the whole falling in love part. Like Elijah would ever be able to love her. Vampires and wolves just didn't mix at all. And that was all the more reason for Hayley to fight her own feelings for him. She couldn't bare to open her heart just for it to end up being crushed later on.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

Hayley was awoken by the feeling of the bed moving. She cracked open an eye and frowned as she saw Elijah getting out of bed. Reaching out, she grabbed his hand and tried to yank him back to her. He looked down at her hand on his wrist and then turned towards her.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he told her.

"Please, stay," she whispered, her voice groggy from either the sleepiness or her sickness, or maybe even both.

Elijah smiled apologetically. "As much as I would like to stay here with you, I have some things back in my room to tend to."

Hayley opened her eyes fully and stared up at him with a hopeful look on her face. "You have a bed in your room, too, don't you?"

Elijah chuckled before he answered, "That I do."

"Then take me with you," she requested. "I mean, what if I happen to get sick again?"

Elijah thought about it for a moment before nodding his head. "Good point," he said, leaning over to pick her up bridal style.

Hayley couldn't help but feel happy and content as Elijah carried her to his room. And a big plus was that she was actually awake this time. The feeling of Elijah carrying her bridal style like that was even better than she ever pictured. She could definitely get used to it, if she had not already done so.

An even bigger and greater feeling of happiness and contentment coursed through her when Elijah gently laid her down on his bed and tucked her in. Hayley snuggled up comfortably under his covers, laying her head down on his pillow. She easily fell back into a peaceful sleep, breathing in his scent.


	11. Fever Fantasies and Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Today is the one year anniversary of me posting the first chapter of this story online for everyone to read over on fanfiction . net ! I had planned on finishing it long before now, but I can't worry about that now. I can only keep going and complete this story like I promised myself and all of you!
> 
> So this chapter definitely got away from me. Which I feel is a good thing because this might be my most favorite chapter of the story. Or at least my top three favorite!

Hayley's eyelids fluttered open, the warm light coming through the window to greet her. A smile crossed her lips as she stretched her arms out above her. She'd actually woken up feeling like herself for the first time in days. It had taken two long and unbearable days for her to fight off the flu. It was times like that when she was grateful for being a wolf and having a better than normal immune system. No sickness ever lasted more than a few days for her. Or maybe that was due to just being plain lucky. Or it could've been due to the fact that Elijah didn't leave her side the whole time. He'd taken very good care of her. Either way, her illness was over with and she felt normal again.

A loud bang suddenly sounded from downstairs. Hayley sat up in bed upon remembering that she hadn't woken up on her own. Another loud crashing sound, almost like someone had been thrown into something, had Hayley jumping out of the bed. She rushed to the door, threw it open, and ran down the hallway. She made it to the railing overlooking the courtyard just in time to witness Klaus sinking his teeth into Elijah's neck.

Hayley's eyes widened, and she slapped a hand over her mouth as an involuntarily scream passed through her lips. She didn't even think about what she was doing as she turned and ran towards the stairs. She was aware of what regular wolf bites could do to regular vampires. But she wasn't quite sure what wolf bites could do to an original vampire. Although, she was at least sure that Elijah wouldn't die from the bite. Based on the story Elijah had told her days before about Klaus and coffins and his obsession with his siblings, Hayley was sure Klaus would never do anything that he knew would kill Elijah.

Hayley ran over to Elijah and Klaus, getting in between them. Despite knowing that there was no way she'd be able to fight Klaus and win if she had to, she still wanted to put distance between him and Elijah. But she also knew that Klaus couldn't do anything to her. She was his only ticket to getting his sister back. He knew it just as well as she did.

Opening her mouth to yell at Klaus, she didn't get the chance. She heard something behind her and turned to find Elijah no longer there. _Where did he go?_ Turning back around, Hayley was met by yet another empty space. _Now where did Klaus go?_

Sighing in frustration, Hayley turned and made her way upstairs. She made her way down the hall to Elijah's room but found that it was empty. Frowning, Hayley did a 360 in the hallway as she tried to figure out where he'd be. Then it dawned on her. But why would he have gone there? Making her way back down the hall, she went straight to the room she was staying in. And sure enough, there he was splayed out on the bed.

Hayley rushed over to him. She gently turned Elijah's head and inspected the bite mark. Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion as she took in the sight of the bite. It didn't look like the ones she'd seen before. Klaus's must've been slightly different because he was a hybrid. Or it could've been due to Elijah being an Original. Either way, Hayley was not sure what to do.

"How does a wolf bite differ from a regular vampire and an Original?" Hayley asked, trying to figure out her plan of actions.

Elijah coughed. "Klaus's blood."

Hayley frowned. "His blood?" she asked in confusion. "That's the only thing that'll heal you?"

Elijah shook his head. "Either that, or I wait it out."

"But waiting it out can't be fun," she stated, taking in the sight of sweat all over his face and beads of it dripping down onto the bed.

"Not at all."

Hayley turned, running into the bathroom to grab a couple of washcloths from the closet. She dampened them with cool water before returning to the bedroom. Hayley paused midway to the bed as she witnessed Elijah begin to shake a bit. Once he settled down and she got her bearings back, Hayley rushed over and didn't hesitate to climb onto the bed. Thankfully due to how Elijah had positioned himself, she was able to easily situate herself at the head of the bed. She gently placed his head in her lap and dabbed at his forehead with one of the washcloths.

"You shouldn't be here," Elijah said, coughing and shaking some more.

Hayley rolled her eyes. "Umm...reminder, you came to the room I'm staying in. Not the other way around," she replied and then sighed. "Besides, you took care of me when I was sick. Now I'm going to repay the favor."

She watched Elijah's mouth open to protest, but she quickly grabbed the other washcloth and balled it up. She put it in his mouth to keep him from saying anything. Then in a tone that left no room for argument, she said, "Don't argue with me. Whether you like it or not, Elijah. I am staying right here."

Elijah spit the washcloth out, and sighed. "Fine, but promise me you won't hold anything you may or may not see against me."

"Promise," Hayley said sincerely, dabbing at his forehead more. "But what could I possibly see that..." she trailed off. "Wait don't answer that. No need to tell me when there's no way to know for sure if I'll see anything."

Elijah nodded his head slowly in agreement.

"I just have to figure out how to get some of Klaus's blood for you," Hayley said quietly, thinking of how she could do it.

"It will not be easy to do," Elijah pointed out.

Hayley shook her head. "You're preaching to the choir," she joked.

A short silence fell between them then.

"I take it that things may get worse," Hayley said more as a statement than a question, breaking the silence.

"It depends."

"On what?"

"What kind of hallucinations my fever gives to me."

"Oh," was all Hayley said as she continued to dab at the sweat on Elijah's face. "So this has happened before?"

Elijah nodded. "Once," he answered. Then obviously being taken over by the fever and not knowing what he was saying, he added on, "Back when I was with Celeste."

"Oh," Hayley said again, this time a wave of jealousy washing over her; that meant that she wasn't the first one to take care of him like this.

Hayley sat there quietly for a few minutes trying to overcome her jealousy and figure out what it meant. She came to the conclusion that there was no way she could deny any longer that she had indeed fallen for Elijah. And that there were no take backs. In the past almost week that she had known him, she had already felt everything for him. Kindness, trust, anger, betrayal, so many others, and now love. Hayley had never before believed in the concept of falling in love within such a short period of time, but she now knew that it was actually possible. All because she'd gone and experienced it first hand for herself.

Looking down at Elijah, she smiled sadly. It was just a shame that Elijah didn't feel the same way. His eyes were closed and for the first time since he got bit, he looked peaceful. Yep, she was definitely probably head over heels in love with him. Not that she'd ever admit it out loud. She may know inside that she loved Elijah after such a short time, but there was no way she'd be verbally admitting it any time soon, if ever at all. Now that would be too much too soon. It's not possible to keep from falling for someone, but it is possible to keep others from knowing that it had happened. Especially when that someone didn't love you back.

Unable to resist the urge, Hayley reached down and gently began to stroke Elijah's head. Almost instantly, she felt as if she was being teleported into another world. Hayley bit her lip as sudden visions of Elijah and...her?...flashed through her mind. The things she saw ranged anywhere from rated PG to rated NC-17.

Hayley quickly pulled her hand away from Elijah and the flashes of visions immediately stopped. It was then that she realized she had just seen into Elijah's mind. Into his deepest thoughts...fantasies. She looked down at him, wondering if he was awake or asleep. Seeing no movement from him, she figured he must've been asleep; or at least asleep just enough to not realize what he had just let her see.

Ever so carefully as to not disturb Elijah, Hayley maneuvered herself out of her position. She got out of bed and immediately began pacing the floor. What had she just seen? What did it all mean? Did Elijah feel something for her as well? There was no way, right? He couldn't, could he? Why would he? From the stories she'd heard growing up, he wasn't very big on wolves at all. So surely he wouldn't fall for one...right? Plus, no matter how many manners he had, he was still a guy. Those fantasies of his were probably just that, fantasies.

Glancing over at Elijah, a small ping of sadness coursed through her. A big part of her wanted him to love her back. But another part of her insisted that it was never going to happen. Hayley leaned more towards the latter considering everything she knew. Maybe she was simply a natural pessimist. Or maybe it was the fact that she wasn't used to the idea of a guy ever wanting her for more than sex. Yeah, it was probably the last one for sure.

With a sigh, Hayley turned to leave the room in search of Klaus. The sooner Elijah was healed, the better for them both.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

It didn't take long for Hayley to track Klaus down in the study. He was sitting at the desk with his feet propped up, nursing a glass of Bourbon in his hand. No one who saw him now would ever expect that he had done something as crazy as bite his brother not even an hour ago.

"What the hell were you thinking biting Elijah like that?" Hayley asked angrily as she stormed into the study.

Klaus looked up at her and glared. "It seems my brother has fallen for the enemy," he answered, his tone full of anger and distaste.

Hayley's eyes widened. "What?!" she asked him, wondering if her ears were tricking her.

She had seen the visions but had honestly assumed it was the fever acting out by showing her his fantasies. That was all they were, just fantasies. They couldn't have been more than that. There was absolutely no way that Original Vampire Elijah Mikaelson would fall for a regular wolf like herself. Right? Though if Klaus was being honest instead of just an asshole currently then everything Hayley assumed about Elijah was far from correct. Could it be true? Had Elijah Mikaelson actually fallen for her right back? Hayley wasn't sure if the possibility terrified or excited her more.

"Don't act like you don't know the meaning behind what I just said," Klaus spat, bringing his glass up to his lips and taking a big gulp of the liquid.

"He hasn't fallen for me," Hayley said defiantly as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, hugging herself.

Klaus shook his head, muttering some very colorful curse words under his breath. "You think I would've bit him if he hadn't?" Klaus questioned her, raising an eyebrow.

Hayley wrinkled her forehead. "You bit him because he fell for me?" she asked, trying to wrap her head around what she was hearing.

All of a sudden, Klaus was out of his chair and right up in her face. "It's not enough that your kind took my sister from me," he spat.

Hayley flinched as guilt rushed through her. If Klaus wasn't such an ass she might have found it in her to feel guilt towards him. But he was being a total ass and Hayley couldn't find it in her to feel guilt. She felt bad for him because she could tell he loved his sister, in a strange possessive way but still. That's as far as her feeling bad for him went and ever would go.

"But now you're trying to take my brother from me, too?!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "I think not!"

Hayley's jaw dropped. "I'm not trying to take him from you!" she exclaimed. "I didn't even know he had feelings for me until you just told me," she informed him, throwing her arms up in the air in an exasperated manner. "And even if I did, how is biting him helping your cause any?"

Klaus opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. Hayley had rendered him speechless.

"I need some of your blood to heal Elijah," Hayley said when Klaus still said nothing after a few minutes.

Klaus scoffed. "As if I'm going to just give it to you."

"Damn you!" Hayley hissed, realizing that she knew the only way to end this sooner rather than later; she hadn't wanted to do this, but she didn't have much of a choice. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know," she forced herself to say, biting her tongue hard enough to draw blood. "But only as long as it's not something too incriminating."

A smirk suddenly appeared on Klaus's face as he made his way back to the desk. He laughed almost manically as he picked up and downed the rest of the contents of his glass. "It seems as if my dear brother may not be the only one falling for the enemy," he said, biting into his wrist and proceeding to fill the glass up with his blood.

Before she could stop herself from saying anything in return, the words left Hayley's mouth. "I would hardly consider him an enemy."

Hayley immediately realized her slip up and suddenly wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow her whole. The last person she wanted to tell that to was Klaus. And yet she had just unintentionally done exactly that. Damn it!

Hayley rushed forward to grab the glass of blood, trying to high tail it out of the study as quickly as she could. But Klaus was quicker. Stupid vampire abilities. He snatched up the glass just as she had made it to the desk.

"Nuh-uh," Klaus said, waving his finger at her. "You owe me some answers before you get the blood."

Hayley frowned, shaking her head. There was no doubt in her mind that she was in for a very long next couple of hours. The things people end up doing for love.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

It felt like years, which in fact it was only a few hours, before Hayley finally made it back to the room, glass of blood in hand. Upon walking into the room, she noticed that Elijah was still asleep. She walked over to the bedside table and carefully set the glass down. Turning to the bed, Hayley stared down at Elijah and smiled. Instead of a sad smile, a happy one graced her face this time. If Klaus was being truthful, and her gut told her he was, then Elijah really did feel something for her back. Her smile was short lived.

The thought that both of them felt something for each other made things even more difficult. If Elijah ever found out the truth of what Hayley had done, they'd both be crushed. If Elijah never found out the truth, Hayley would be crushed and in turn so would Elijah eventually. Hayley didn't want to be stuck with the guilt of what she had done forever. But at the same time, she didn't want to lose Elijah either. She was officially stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Either he found out and she lost him. Or he never found out and she lost herself. There was no good way for this to end.

Elijah groaning and moving around on the bed stole Hayley away from her thoughts. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her. Hayley instantly reached for the glass on the bedside table. She held it up in above him and gave him a small smile.

"I got the blood," Hayley said, grinning. "You don't have to ride out the fever."

"He gave it to you?" Elijah asked, scrunching his eyebrows.

Hayley nodded. "Not without something in return, but yes."

"Ah, of course," Elijah said, nodding his head in understanding. "He never does anything without getting something in return first."

"Here, sit up," Hayley told him, kneeling with one knee on the bed next to him. "Give me your hand."

Elijah reached his hand out and allowed Hayley to help pull him up into a sitting position.

Hayley smiled sweetly as she handed him the glass. "Now drink and be healed."

He smiled back, taking the glass from her. "As you wish," he said before putting the glass to his lips and drinking it down.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Hayley pushed herself off of the bed. The first time he'd said those words to her, they were just words. But this time, she knew that they were more than just words. They were his true possible feelings for her.

"Hayley?" Elijah stared at her with concern and confusion etched into his facial expressions.

"I, umm..." Hayley couldn't figure out what to say. "Gotta go!" she exclaimed, spinning and running out of the bedroom.

Hayley quickly made her way down the hall in the direction of the roof. She wasn't paying attention to who or what may be in her way, which lead to her running into someone.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking forward to find Freya standing in front of her.

"Are you okay?" Freya asked, seeing the crazed expression in Hayley's eyes.

Hayley nodded her head. "Of course I am," she answered a little bit too quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Where were you headed in such a rush?" Freya wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"To the roof," Hayley answered, pushing by Freya to continue on her way. "I just need some air!"

As she continued towards the roof access door, Hayley could hear Freya already talking to Elijah.

"What did you do to effect her emotions this time?"

"I didn't do anything," Elijah replied, sounding just as out of the loop as Freya was.

"And why is there dried up blood on your neck, Elijah?" Freya asked, her voice now sounding concerned. "Damn it! I leave for three days," she said, exasperated; Hayley could easily imagine that Freya was rolling her eyes. "That's it! I'm never leaving here again."

Hayley chuckled as she continued on her way to the roof.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

Hayley stood at the edge of the roof, looking down at the city below her. The view of the city was even more beautiful from above. To think her parents actually expected her to move back to the bayou. No offense to the bayou which was beautiful in its own way, the city was much more alive and welcoming.

"Are you alright?" Elijah asked from behind her.

Hayley looked back at him over her shoulder and gave him a fake smile. "Yeah, of course," she answered. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Elijah took a few steps closer to her. "You've been acting unlike your usual self ever since I woke up," he pointed out.

Hayley opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"You didn't see or hear anything that would cause you to freak out like this, did you?" he asked her curiously, trying to get to the bottom of her sudden mood swing.

Hayley tried yet again to say something but only managed to stutter out, "I...I..."

Taking her less than an actual reply as her way of saying yes, Elijah began to apologize, "I apologize for whatever you saw earlier. I would never purposely..."

His mention of what she saw earlier caused the visions of Elijah's fantasies to come pouring into her mind again. In turn, they caused Hayley to snap.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" she exclaimed as she bit her lower lip.

If his facial expression was anything to go by, Elijah was clearly taken back by her outburst. He was about to respond when Hayley grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him towards her, connecting their mouths together in a bruising kiss.

Hayley had snapped, all she could see were those fantasies of Elijah's. And all she wanted to do was act out all the NC-17 ones. Obviously that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, if ever, so kissing the living daylights out of him would just have to do. But the longer she kissed him for, the more she wanted more. Hayley had known the other night when they'd almost kissed that this was a bad idea. And now she was learning it by the actual action. God she wanted him so damn bad. But she couldn't have him, no matter if they did share feelings.

"Oh my god!" Hayley exclaimed, pulling away and pushing him away at the same time. "I...I shouldn't have...that was dumb. I've gotta go!"

Hayley was back in the compound and back to her designated room in record time. She slammed the door shut and locked it, sliding down the back of the door as she had the time after they'd almost kissed. Except this time they had kissed and damn if she didn't enjoy it. Needless to say that despite it only being the afternoon, Hayley spent the rest of the day locked in the room and didn't come out until the next day.


	12. The Calm Before the Storm

Hayley turned her head to look at the clock on the bedside table and sighed. 11:00am. That meant that she'd spent the last 7 hours laying there doing nothing. Not sleeping. Not tossing and turning. Just laying there. Her kiss with Elijah had literally kept her up all night. Every time she'd close her eyes she'd see flashes of it in her head. She'd even feel his lips on hers again. Therefore, trying to get any sleep had been a futile attempt.

God. How could she have been so stupid to kiss him? Not that it had been bad because it had been amazing. But as if knowing they both had feelings for each other wasn't enough...Hayley had gone and acted on those feelings. And that was cause for a total disaster.

Hayley could feel herself being torn apart mentally and emotionally. The guilt of what she had done, her love for Elijah...her secret was tearing her apart just as she knew it would. And kissing Elijah had just made her guilt sky rocket times ten. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

Looking at the clock again and seeing that it was only 11:02 now, Hayley shook her head and kicked the covers off of herself. She'd finally come to terms with the fact that she would be running on empty all day. She could do it. She'd done it before. Plus, she was still young enough that it wouldn't have any long lasting effects on her.

Getting out of bed, Hayley went about her normal morning routine. Once she was finished, she decided to head downstairs in search of some food. She was starving on account of locking herself in the room all night. She definitely hadn't thought that one through.

Leaving the room and making her way down the hall, Hayley saw a light shining from inside the study. Wondering who it could be, considering usually no one was around at this time, she walked towards the study and peaked inside. She was surprised when she noticed Elijah sitting at the desk.

"I'm surprised to see you here at this time of day," Hayley spoke, catching Elijah's attention, as she entered the room.

He looked up from whatever he was doing at the desk and motioned towards the window. "Did you not notice the weather outside?" Elijah asked her curiously.

Hayley glanced out the window and frowned at the downpour of rain that met her eyes. "Well, damn."

"What's on your mind?" Elijah asked her, turning in his chair so that his whole body was facing her.

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "What makes you ask that?"

"The pounding of rain on the roof is rather loud," Elijah pointed out, giving her a knowing look.

"Oh," Hayley said, biting her lip and looking anywhere but at him. "It's nothing. I was just thinking..."

Elijah waited for her to respond, but when she didn't he urged her on, "You were thinking what?"

Hayley thought for a moment, wondering if she should tell him the truth. But decided not to. Not yet, anyways.

"That I have not eaten since yesterday," Hayley said, praising herself silently for coming up with something good; it was the truth, too.

Elijah gave her a look that made Hayley think he was going to challenge her answer, but instead he chuckled. Hayley sighed out of relief. That was a close one.

"I know it's raining but there is this nice little restaurant down the street that I think you might enjoy," Elijah suggested.

"I'm a wolf, not the wicked witch of the west," Hayley joked in response.

Playing along, Elijah smirked. "Wrong skin color."

Jaw dropping slightly, Hayley replied, "Is that all?"

Elijah stood up from his chair and walked over to her. "You're good," he said, causing Hayley's guilt to grow even more "And you're much prettier," Elijah added, reaching out to tuck a strand of stray hair behind Hayley's ear.

Hayley's eyes flickered up to his and then down to his lips. Was it wrong that she wanted to kiss him again? And judging by the look on his face and how he was moving closer to her, he was wondering the same thing. This couldn't happen again. Hayley had to act fast.

"Um, we should go!" Hayley exclaimed as she quickly distanced herself from him. "I really am hungry," she insisted, spinning on her heels and rushing out of the study.

Hayley let out a puff of air as she rushed down the hallway. She wasn't going to be able to brush Elijah off too many more times. Eventually she'd have to woman up and face the elephant in the room. The kiss. But that moment was not going to be now.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

"Oh my sweet lord!" Hayley exclaimed as she took a bite of her omelet. "This omelet is like heaven in my mouth."

Elijah chuckled, sipping his cup of tea. "Did I not tell you?"

"I would stay with you forever if I got to eat food this good everyday," Hayley said, taking another bite.

Elijah smiled. "I know of many other places you would enjoy," he replied, placing his cup down on the table.

"A perk of being thousands of years old." Hayley laughed quietly as to not gain the attention of any of the other patrons. "That is how old you are right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shrugging his shoulders, Elijah answered, "More or less."

"Don't be blunt or anything," Hayley responded sarcastically. "Do you even remember how old you are?" she asked after giving it some thought.

"Honestly, no, I don't," Elijah replied, leaning forward. "I gave up keeping track after the first few hundred years."

"I can only imagine living as long as you have," Hayley confessed.

"It has its ups and its downs," Elijah admitted. "But it helps when you're not doing it alone."

Hayley nodded her head in understanding as she replied, "Most things are better when you're not alone."

An easy silence fell between them as Hayley continued to eat her omelet and Elijah drank his tea.

Hayley looked up when she felt Elijah's eyes on her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He didn't respond right away. But Hayley almost choked on her food when he finally did.

"Are we going to talk about what happened between us yesterday?"

Hayley coughed, dropping her fork and patting her chest as she reached for her drink. After a few sips, her coughing fit subsided.

"Umm...I..." she struggled to think of something to say.

"You can start by answering my question from yesterday with words instead of a kiss," Elijah suggested.

Hayley looked up at him, swallowing hard. "Which question?"

"I asked you if you had seen or heard anything that made you act how you were acting after I was healed."

"Oh, right. That," Hayley said, looking down at her plate.

She contemplated whether to tell him the truth or not. Was she ready for him to know that she knew that he felt something for her? Was she ready for him to know exactly how she felt about him? Should she tell him that she'd seen all types of his fantasies featuring the two of them?

In the end, she unintentionally answered her questions at once when what came out of her mouth next was utter word vomit.

"I saw all of your fantasies of us!" Hayley blurted out, and after that the confessions kept coming. "The PG ones, the NC-17 ones...all of them. At first I thought it was just the fever talking, but then I went to get Klaus's blood and confront him about biting you. He told me that you had fallen for me, and then the fantasies made so much more sense. Then when I gave you the glass of blood, you said "As you wish," and I freaked out because anyone who's seen or heard of The Princess Bride knows that as you wish means I love you and I just..." Hayley trailed off, eyes wide as she realized what all she'd just told him. "Oh god!" she exclaimed, slapping a hand over her mouth.

Elijah reached forward to place his hand on top of her own. "Hayley, calm down," he said, his voice laced with a sense of calm, as he gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

Hayley froze, gulping as she looked down at his hand stroking her own. She dropped her hand from her mouth as she looked back up at him.

"There's no need to hyperventilate," Elijah told her.

"It's just...I..." Hayley trailed off as she collected her thoughts and calmed herself down. "It hasn't even been a week yet since we met. How can you have real feelings for me?" she asked. "Better yet...how can I have real feelings for you?"

Elijah's eyes widened slightly at the last thing Hayley said. He pulled his hand away from hers, leaning back in his seat.

Hayley's lips turned up into a small smile. "You look surprised," she stated unnecessarily; his expression spoke volumes. "Why else would I have kissed you?"

It was Elijah's turn not to know what to say. "I just figured..."

"Do you take me for the kind of girl who just kisses a guy for no reason?" Hayley wondered in a manner of teasing, raising an eyebrow.

"No, of course not!" Elijah assured her immediately.

Hayley chuckled. "Relax. I was just teasing," she told him, picking up her fork.

Silence fell between them as Hayley resumed eating her omelet.

After a while Elijah broke the silence when he answered Hayley's questions from earlier. "A lot can happen in less than a week."

Hayley nodded her head. "After all we are living proof of that."

Elijah flashed a smile. "It would appear so."

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

The rain had stopped by time they made their way back to the compound. Puddles lined the ground and the air was chilly. Hayley was shivering thanks to her accidentally forgetting to bring her coat.

Elijah glanced over at her and frowned slightly when he took in the sight of her with her arms wrapped around herself. He nudged at Hayley's arm before he stopped walking. Slipping out of his coat, he helped her to put it on.

Hayley pulled the coat closed and held it around her tightly. She smiled as the wind blew some of his scent up to her nose. There was no denying how everything about him made her feel. She felt like she was on cloud nine. Even if there was a couple of things trying to keep her from being completely happy. Her guilt and the circumstances of her current situation were doing their best to fight their way back to the surface.

"You know, this is all just so messed up." Hayley sighed as they began to walk again. "I mean the circumstances," she clarified, glancing over at him.

Elijah nodded his head, agreeing with her.

"I never thought I'd be in a Stockholm type situation," she said more to herself than to him.

"Nor I."

"But does it really count as Stockholm since you're not the one who took me?" she asked curiously, knowing that the answer was most likely yes. But she still wanted to cover all the bases just in case. "Your brother did."

"I think so," Elijah answered, confirming what she already thought. "I still kept you here when you wanted to go home."

Momentarily forgetting that Elijah had vampire hearing, Hayley whispered under her breath, "At first."

Raising an eyebrow, Elijah wondered, "At first?"

Hayley's eyes widened as she realized her slip up. "Umm..." she trailed off not knowing what to say. She needed to come up with an explanation pronto. _"_ I meant that at first I didn't want to be here, but then things changed once I got to know you better," she began explaining herself. Well it wasn't a lie. _"_ And yes, no matter how nice you've been to me, I'm still technically a hostage," Hayley continued rambling on. " _If only you knew I willingly came back with you after the visit to my apartment and why I did,"_ she thought to herself. "But whether it is wrong or right, I can't help how I feel about you."

"Nor can I," Elijah agreed.

They stopped walking, unintentionally timing it just right as they had arrived at the compound. Elijah turned around so that he was facing Hayley. As if they were opposite sides of a magnet, they began moving closer to each other.

Hayley swallowed as she asked, "Are you going to kiss me now?"

Reaching up to gently caress her face, he replied, "If that's okay with you."

Hayley smiled and nodded her head, giving him the go ahead. Who was she to deny herself this again? Especially now after they'd talked things out, and she knew how amazing of a kisser he was. She may be a lot of things, but stupid was not one of them.

After receiving Hayley's permission, Elijah moved his hand to the back of her head and gently pulled her towards him. Their lips connected and if Hayley didn't know any better, she would've sworn she felt a spark. Hayley allowed herself to forget everything else and give into the kiss. The kiss was much slower and savory than the first one had been. The differences between the equally amazing kisses were so good.

"Well, well, well," a voice suddenly said from beside them, causing them to break apart.

"Oh god," Hayley muttered under her breath as she immediately recognized the voice.

This was not good. Not good at all.


	13. Dirty Little Secret

The door to the compound was open and leaning against the doorframe was Hayley's worst nightmare at present time. Oliver. Every fiber in Hayley's being screamed to her that there was absolutely no way that this was not going to end well.

Hayley took a step back from Elijah, turning her body fully towards where Oliver stood. "What the hell are you doing here, Oliver?" she asked, clenching her teeth.

Oliver ignored her question. Instead he made a "tsk tsk" sound and shook his head. "Can't stay I'm surprised by this turn of events," he said, pushing off of the doorframe and standing up straighter.

"Hayley, who is this?" Elijah asked curiously.

Hayley glanced at Elijah, noticing his mouth turned down into a frown. She was almost afraid to tell him the truth. But she had lied to him enough about things, now was truth time. "The asshole I'm supposed to be marrying," she said glumly.

Elijah looked like he wanted to say something, but no words were spilled.

"And by that she means that that's my bride to be you were just kissing," Oliver noted in a tone that reeked of possessiveness.

"Oh, you...bite me, jackass!" Hayley exclaimed, whipping her head back around so she could glare at him. "Don't act like you're playing the part of the good husband to be either," she hissed at him. "And also, drop the possessive tone because you don't own me!"

Oliver just smirked at her. "Oh, but I will soon."

If she were in a cartoon at that point then clouds of red smoke would've been train whistling out of her ears. The only thing keeping her from rushing forward and knocking that smirk right of his face was Elijah's arm slipping around her waist, holding her back.

"I will _never_ be yours!" Hayley yelled, shaking in Elijah's tight grip, which she managed to slip from after a short time of struggling to get out. "As far as I'm concerned, the marriage will be for show only. My parents will get off my back and you can have your stupid title as future king of the packs!" Then she smirked. "I mean, if you live that long. I mean, there's my dad...then my brother." Hayley's anger momentarily dissipated as Oliver's smirk fell. "You forgot about that little tidbit, didn't you?"

"Do you really want to play a game of "ruin each other's happiness" right now?" Oliver asked her, a devious grin taking place upon his lips.

Hayley frowned, scrunching her eyebrows.

"Careful, Hayley. Don't fall into his trap," Elijah warned her as he took a step closer to her, reaching out to place a hand on her upper arm.

She turned to him, giving him an assuring smile, as she said, "Don't worry. He's harmless."

Oliver scoffed. "Am I now?"

Hayley turned back to Oliver. "I don't know what you're trying to do here, but it's not gonna work."

"Oh, I think it will," Oliver told her in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's clear that you've come to have feelings for the vampire. And he for you."

Hayley shrugged her shoulders, crossing her arms. "So what if that is what happened?"

"I wonder how he'd react if he found out the truth?" Oliver said thoughtfully as he tapped his finger on his chin.

Hayley's heart damn near stopped as those words left his mouth. Her eyes widened and her throat went dry. If she had been prone to panic attacks, then this would be the time when she had one.

"Found out the truth?" Elijah asked, his voice conveying his confusion and curiosity.

"Oliver!" Hayley hissed through clenched teeth. "Don't you dare!"

Oliver chuckled, smirking at her. "What? Afraid the bloodsucker won't want you anymore if he knows the truth?"

"The truth about what?" Elijah asked impatiently, wanting answers.

"What happened to your sister," Oliver answered proudly.

Hayley watched helplessly as Elijah's calm manner instantly turned to anger. In a move that was quicker than Hayley could even blink her eyes, this was the first time she'd ever seen him use any of his vampire abilities, Elijah had Oliver slammed against a wall in the compound. His hands were wrapped tightly around his neck.

From her spot outside, Hayley could see and hear what was transpiring inside the compound. But whether it be from shock or from fear, Hayley could not make herself move to go inside yet. The first part of the day had been going so well. She should've known not to forget about her guilt and let herself be too happy. 'Cause the second she did, this happened. No, she couldn't let this happen this way. Elijah couldn't find out the truth now, at least not this way.

"What in the world is going on down here?" Freya asked suddenly from the top of the stairs.

"It was you," Elijah growled at Oliver, tightening his grip on his throat to the point where Oliver was gasping for air.

"Elijah, what are you doing?!" Freya exclaimed, rushing down the stairs to her brothers side.

"He took Rebekah," Elijah told his sister, glancing over at her.

Freya gasped, her eyes widening.

All of a sudden, Klaus was in the mix as well. "Who took Rebekah?" he asked, answering his own question as he appeared by his brother and sister in front of Oliver. "I say we should rip him to shreds! Send his head to the wolves in a box!"

Freya scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Starting an all out war is not the answer, Klaus!" Freya scolded her overly hot tempered brother.

Hayley managed to talk herself into entering the compound just as Elijah let go of Oliver, letting him drop painfully to the floor. Before she could even say one word, Oliver spoke up. His voice was full of fear so she shouldn't have been surprised by what came out of his mouth.

"Wasn't...just...me. I...I...had...help," Oliver choked out as he gasped for breath.

Hayley reached up and slapped a hand over her harshly beating heart. She wouldn't be surprised if it literally thumped right out of her chest. Oh, god! No. This wasn't happening. Not like this. It could not be happening like this. Was her luck really that bad that this was happening as it was? Hadn't she already suffered enough thanks to her guilt?

"Who?!" Klaus demanded an answer.

Hayley's breath caught in her throat as Oliver pointed behind them at her. So apparently she hadn't suffered enough yet. Yep, that seemed to be par for the course.

All three siblings turned fully in her direction. Klaus looked angry. Freya looked shocked and hurt. And Elijah looked all three of those combined.

"I...I..." Hayley couldn't get any full coherent sentences out. She bit her lip, trying to calm herself. It was all for nothing though because there was no way she was calming down now that her dirty little secret was out.

"I knew it!" Klaus hissed, moving towards her.

Hayley couldn't move out of the way fast enough. But lucky for her, Elijah stepped in between them just in time. That turned out to be even worse than if Klaus had gotten hold of her. After forcing his brother away from Hayley, Elijah turned to face her. The expression on his face had Hayley breaking down immediately.

"Please don't hate me, Elijah!" she pleaded with him, trying to blink back the tears that threatened to fall. "I'm so very sorry about what I did. If I could take it all back, I would," she admitted as her efforts to hold back her tears failed.

She meant what she said; even though it would mean that they would have never met and fallen for each other. As much as it pained her to say, she would gladly have passed on the situation that brought them together if it meant neither of them would be as hurt as they were.

"A part of me deep down always knew that you knew more than you let on. That's why I never mentioned Rebekah to you directly," he confessed, his voice conveyed so well how broken he felt; Hayley had caused that. "I didn't want to admit it due to the magnetic pull that I'd felt towards you, but I can't any longer."

Oh god. He'd felt the magnetic pull to her, too. She had been so sure that it had only been her who felt it. Damn it. That just made all of this that much more painful.

"Please, Elijah. You have to forgive me," she cried, having to use every fiber of her being to keep her knees from buckling underneath her. "I'm so sorry. I truly am sorry!"

Klaus scoffed from where he was standing. "Don't fall for her bullshit!" he hissed. "She helped take our sister. That is unforgiveable!" he continued on. "Just because you've fallen for that bitch..."

"Niklaus, enough!" Elijah turned towards Klaus, pointing a finger at him. "Calm yourself and watch what you say."

"I say we shred her to pieces, too!" He glared at Hayley, making a move towards her again despite Elijah still being right there in front of her.

"We will do no such thing to her," Elijah told his brother, his tone stern and up for no negotiations.

"Then move aside and I will do it!" Klaus clenched and unclenched his fists, snarling.

Elijah reached up and pushed Klaus backwards.

Klaus turned his glare towards his brother. "What happened to "Family Above All," Elijah?" he asked. "What happened to no one hurts my family and lives?"

"That's still the code that I live by, Niklaus," Elijah told him sternly. "Don't you ever challenge that?"

"Yet Hayley is still alive," Klaus pointed out. "She's not family."

All Hayley could do was continue to stand there and watch and listen as everything unfolded right before her.

"No, she's not," Elijah agreed.

Upon hearing those words, Hayley's heart felt like it had exploded into a million pieces. What did that mean? Would Elijah turn on her now that he'd admitted she wasn't family? Or would he let her go in one piece but just treat her as a nobody instead? Hayley wasn't sure which one would be worse.

"Then why not rip them both to shreds for what they did?" Klaus asked. "I'll gladly do it." He had a sinister look on his face that chilled Hayley to her bones.

"Hayley get upstairs now!" Elijah ordered her. "Now!" he demanded when Hayley made no move to follow his order.

Hayley immediately obeyed him that time when she realized he was doing it for her own good. Klaus was dead set on ripping her to shreds. Elijah choosing to save her meant that option two was the one that was happening. And it hurt so bad. She once again felt like her heart was exploding into a million more little pieces, heartbroken being the clinical term.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

Rushing into the bedroom, Hayley slammed the door behind her and locked it. Not that it'd do any good if Klaus got by his siblings. But Hayley felt pretty strongly that Elijah and Freya would be able to subdue him. At least long enough for her to figure out how to get out of there.

Hayley ran over to where she had hidden her phone, grabbing it and frantically dialing her brother's phone number. Much to her relief, he answered after the second ring. Hayley didn't give him any chance to greet her.

"Tell me you convinced Mom and Dad to give Rebekah back to them!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking.

"They wouldn't listen to me," Jack replied with a sigh.

Hayley began pacing the room. A string of curses followed, some being ones that probably had never been heard of before.

"From what I last heard, negotiations are still in play," Jackson said. "But due to today's surprise storm more negotiations didn't happen."

"This is bad, Jackson!" Hayley hissed, not in the mood to talk about anything other than her getting out of this situation.

"How?"

"Oliver showed up here!" she told him, running a hand through her hair and yanking hard at the ends. "He told them _everything_!"

"Everything?!"

"Yes, everything!" Hayley said, rolling her eyes. "They know I helped Oliver take Rebekah," she said, and as soon as the words left her mouth it was like a light bulb switched on. "Oh my god! That's why he asked me to help! Not because he needed it, but because he wanted someone to take some of the heat off of him if the truth ever got out."

"That definitely sounds like something Oliver would do," Jack agreed.

Anger towards herself and more hatred towards Oliver coursed through her. "How could I have been so stupid not to think about the why when he asked me?!"

"I can't help you there."

Ignoring his response, Hayley said, "I have to give them back their sister. It's the only way to fix this and make things right."

"Hayley, no!" Jack said, trying to reason with her. "Mom and Dad would be angry with you if you did that."

Hayley gritted her teeth. "One, my life should be more important than some stupid war between the wolves and vampires," she stated matter-of-factly, rolling her eyes and sighing. "Two, what other choice do I have, Jackson?" she asked him rhetorically. "Freya and Elijah are downstairs right now trying to keep Klaus from coming up here and shredding me to pieces."

"Hayley, please don't do anything stupid and end up getting yourself killed or something," Jackson pleaded.

"I won't. I promise." She sighed as she pulled Elijah's jacket tighter around her shaking form. "I'll see you soon," she said before she hung up the phone and looked around the room. "I have to figure a way out of here so that I can free Rebekah," she said to herself.

And she didn't have much time to do it in.


	14. The Great Escapes

As she paced back and forth across the floor, Hayley was racking her brain for a way out of there. She couldn't bare to be stuck in the compound any longer now that her secret had been revealed. Even with Elijah there, Hayley no longer felt safe or welcome.

Even worse, the longer Hayley stayed there the more her heart began to break. Her not thought out actions had ended up costing her Elijah. Although one could argue that if it weren't for her actions she would've never gained Elijah in the first place. But as much as she hated to say it, she would've preferred the latter instead of the pain she was currently feeling.

Hayley racked her brain for every idea she could think of. But mostly all of them consisted of her needing to somehow get passed the Mikaelson's downstairs. That was out of the question so none of those ideas worked. If only she knew another witch who could undo the boundary spell.

"Oh!" Hayley exclaimed as she suddenly came up with a plan that was sure to work.

Rushing over to the bed where she threw her phone, she picked it up and dialed a number that she wasn't too familiar with. But the person on the other end of the number was someone she knew could definitely help her. Thank goodness for double dates with her roommates boyfriend and his best friend.

Hayley bit her lip, tapping her foot quietly against the floor as she held the phone to her ear. There was finally an answer after four rings.

"Hello."

"Davina?" Hayley questioned.

"Who's this?"

"Oh, sorry. It's Hayley."

"Right. Hayley, of course. I recognize your voice now," Davina said. "How are you calling me? I heard that you were taken by Klaus?"

Hayley sighed. "That's true," she replied, running a hand over her face. "But I got a hold of my phone."

"Okay then. What are you calling for?"

"I know we don't know each other too much outside of dinner dates with the guys, but you're a witch and I need your help."

Why hadn't she thought of this days ago? She could've been out of here and back home already. Oh, right. The guilt, and then Elijah. Escape had been the last thing on her mind because she was in self punishment mode.

"How can I help you?" Davina asked curiously.

"I need to get out of here," Hayley answered.

There was a short pause.

"Why don't you sneak out?"

"I would leave on my own if I could, but I'm stuck here," Hayley confessed. "I can't get out without being escorted by someone who isn't effected by the boundary spell that Freya put around the place."

"Why don't you call and get Aiden to come there and escort you out?" Davina suggested.

Hayley shook her head, not that Davina could see her do so. "Freya, Klaus, and Elijah are all downstairs," Hayley replied. "I can't get by them without getting caught."

"What exactly is it that you are asking me to do?"

"Can you somehow break the barrier for me?" Hayley wondered, her hope shining through in her tone of voice. "Or just a small enough area of the barrier for me to get through?"

Davina responded hesitantly, "I mean I could try to do that."

"Please, Davina," Hayley said, practically begging. "I'll owe you big time!"

Davina sighed on the other end of the phone. "Fine," she relented. "I will see what I can do."

Hayley smiled briefly. "There's a fire escape right outside the window of the room I'm in. Try to break through the barrier there if you can't break the full barrier."

"Okay," Davina replied. "But I'm not promising you that this will work in any way."

"I know," Hayley assured her, knowing fully well not to get her hopes too far up just in case. "I just need you to try it. We won't know what happens unless you do."

"Alright, I'll check my books and see if there's anything I can find," Davina told her. "It may take a couple of hours."

Hayley shrugged. "That's fine. Take your time. I'm sure they'll all be preoccupied downstairs for a while," Hayley said. "Thank you so much!"

"Don't thank me yet. Not until you have a reason to."

"I have a lot of faith in you, Davina," Hayley replied before hanging up the phone.

Double checking to make sure her phone was on vibrate still, Hayley placed the phone into her bra. Then she decided that while she waited for Davina to come through, she would write a letter to Elijah. There were a few things she wanted to get off her chest.

Hayley tiptoed out of the bedroom and down the hall to the study. Thankfully, Klaus was still yelling up a storm and Elijah and Freya were preoccupied with keeping him at bay downstairs. Therefore, none of them were paying any attention to what she was doing upstairs. Hayley retrieved a pad of paper and a pen, and then went back to the room.

She sat down Indian style in the middle of the bad and began working on her letter. Putting her thoughts on to paper turned out to be much harder than she thought it'd be. She was not sure exactly how to say what she wanted to say. She didn't want to say the wrong thing.

_Dear Elijah,_

_If you're reading this that means I have found a way to leave here. I don't know if you'll even read all of this. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. But I'll continue writing anyways._

_I can't even begin to tell you just how sorry I am about everything. If I had only thought about my actions before I did them, I would have never assisted Oliver in taking Rebekah. I have no excuse for what I did other than being completely careless. I am truly and deeply sorry for what I did._

_I hope one day you can find it in yourself to forgive me. If you never do, I would understand. Honestly, if I were you I don't know if I'd be able to ever forgive myself either. I truly can't tell you I'm sorry enough. I don't know what else to say. I mean, nothing I say will change what happened. The most I can do is do something that will prove to you just how much I regret my actions. Keep an eye out for your sister, I'll be helping her escape once I get back to the bayou._

_I may have lied to you about my involvement in everything, but I promise you that I did not lie about my feelings towards you. I fought so hard to keep them at bay, but I felt a pull to you from the moment we met. I think I may have even fallen in love with you. Not that it matters now. My actions have ruined everything. And I will have to live with that fact for the rest of my life. I guess that is a fair punishment._

_Again, I am truly sorry. Please try to find it in yourself to forgive me._

_No pressure,_

_Hayley_

Hayley contemplated writing love, but instead she chose to just write her name. There was no point in adding more salt to the wound. Admitting she thought she was in love with him was probably enough extra pain. One admittance of love was more than enough.

After reading over the letter a few times and deciding it was good enough, Hayley folded it up neatly. She planned on either placing it under Elijah's door or she'd leave it somewhere in the room where he'd see it before she left.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

Hayley didn't ask any questions when it took Davina less than an hour to come through. If anything, Hayley was thanking God that Davina had managed to break the barrier as quick as she did. She was grateful that she wouldn't be adding another bad decision to her list.

Taking advantage of the commotion that was surprisingly still going on downstairs, well not too surprising knowing how angry Klaus could get, Hayley quietly left the room and made her way to Elijah's. She snuck inside and placed the letter on top of his pillow before turning and rushing back out of the room.

She rushed back to Rebekah's room, closing and locking the door behind her just in case. Gathering all of her things, she threw the bag over her shoulder and made her way towards the window. Hayley couldn't keep the small smile off of her face as she reached forward and successfully opened up the window.

Not wanting to waste time and possibly get caught, Hayley didn't hesitate to climb out the window and down the fire escape. She hit the ground running. She managed to run the entire way home without stopping. That was one of the perks of being a wolf, a whole lot of stamina.

Upon arriving at the bayou shack where Rebekah was being kept, Hayley put her bag down. She assessed the situation, noting that there were two guys standing guard at the door to the shack. If she was going to get Rebekah out, she needed to come up with a plan quickly. Lucky for her, it didn't take long to come up with one.

Taking a deep breath, Hayley took off running. She ran out of the woods and straight towards the guards. The guards turned in her direction when they heard her coming, preparing for a fight. But they both immediately stood up straight when they noticed it was her and not some other threat.

"Princess Hayley," both guards said, bowing down before her.

Hayley rolled her eyes. God she hated being called that with a passion. Biting her lip hard to keep herself from saying the wrong thing, she continued putting her plan into action. She dropped down to her knees in front of them, gasping for breath.

"Please get my parents," she said, breathing heavy. "I can not go any further right now."

Hayley clenched her fists when she heard them talking amongst themselves. Only one of them could go because there had to be at least one person guarding Rebekah at all times. Heaven forbid they disobey her parents orders. Apparently she was going to have to figure out another way to take out the other guard. That should be easy.

Once the one guard ran off to retrieve her parents, Hayley tried to come up with her other plan of attack. As if it was a sign from the higher powers themselves, the other guard turned his back towards Hayley. She immediately knew what she could do.

Looking around, Hayley searched for a weapon to use. Not something hard enough that it would kill the guard. Just something hard enough to be able to knock him out. Preferably without him ever realizing she was the one who did it. Upon finding the right tool to do just that, Hayley tiptoed up behind the guard and hit him in the back of his head with it. He fell to the ground in a heap.

Throwing the weapon aside, Hayley bent down to grab the shack key from him. After retrieving it, Hayley quickly made her way to the door and threw it open. She had to work fast. Who knew when the other guard would return with her parents?

Hayley pushed the door open all the way and cautiously walked inside. She had no idea what she was walking into. And just in case it was the worst case scenario, she wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

"Rebekah?" Hayley asked, looking around the small shack. "I don't mean any harm. I'm just here to help you get out of here."

"Why should I believe you?" she heard Rebekah ask from a dark corner of the shack. "You're half the reason I'm here in the first place."

Hayley sighed. "I know, and I am so sorry for my part in this," she admitted. "Which is why I'm here to let you go."

Rebekah slowly appeared from beyond the shadows. "How do I know this isn't just some trick of yours?" she asked, crossing her arms. "That fiancé of yours had a lot of fun screwing with me by doing exactly what you're doing."

Hayley frowned. "I swear I had nothing to do with that."

Rebekah scoffed. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"I swear, Rebekah," Hayley said honestly. "I've been at the compound with Elijah and Freya all week."

Upon hearing her siblings names, Rebekah stepped closer to Hayley. "What do you mean?"

"Klaus took me as retaliation to try to use me as a trading object," Hayley explained. "Freya trapped me in the compound with a boundary spell."

"Why should I believe you?" Rebekah asked hesitantly.

Hayley sighed, taking off Elijah's jacket and holding it out. "Look familiar?"

Rebekah eyed the jacket before replying, "It's Elijah's."

"Is that proof enough for you, or do you need more?" Hayley asked, putting the jacket back on; she may have had to part with Elijah, but she wasn't ready to part with his jacket any time soon.

Rebekah opened her mouth to say something, but the voices in the distance abruptly made her close her mouth. She turned to Hayley who stared back at her with wide eyes.

"You have to go now!" Hayley exclaimed, moving out of the way so that Rebekah could get by.

Rebekah was hesitant, narrowing her eyes as she searched Hayley's face for any indication of a lie.

"Why are you helping me?" Rebekah asked curiously as she moved to stand in front of her.

Knowing she didn't have much time to answer her and say what she wanted to say, she did both at once. "I know you don't owe me anything and I don't blame you if you just tell me to fuck off, but if you would..." Hayley trailed off momentarily. "Please tell Elijah I truly am sorry...for everything," she finished sadly. "And to you, too. It does not change what I did, but I truly am sorry."

Rebekah stared at her with narrowed eyes as if she was trying to figure her out.

Hearing the voices getting closer, Hayley practically pushed Rebekah out the door. "Seriously! Go now!"

With one last curious look at her, Rebekah nodded her head and sped off into the woods.


	15. Reap What Was Sowed

It had been a couple of months since things had gone down the way they did. It had been a couple months since everything was revealed. Hayley had tried so hard to move on with her life. She had to do whatever it took to get back to how she was before that crazy and intense week she'd spent at the Mikaelson's compound. But that was much easier said than done.

Most days Hayley was able to take full control of herself and go about her normal day routine and whatever else came about. But on occasion she'd have those days where she'd allow herself to just stay in bed and wallow in her guilt, pain, and grief. The current day just so happened to be one of those days.

No matter how hard she tried to, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about Elijah. He was the first thing she'd think about when she woke up everyday, and he was the last thing she'd think about before she went to bed at night. She'd said in her letter that she thought she was in love with him, but after the past few months she now knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was.

A sudden knock on her bedroom door broke her from her thoughts. She had no energy to get out of bed to answer it, nor did she feel like telling whoever it was to come in. Therefore, she let whoever it was keep knocking. Eventually they'd either just take the hint and leave or barge in.

"Hayley! I'm coming in," her brother announced just as the door knob twisted and the door was pushed open.

Hayley frowned, rolling over so that her back was towards him.

Jackson sighed. "It's noon, Hayley," he informed her. "You need to get up. Mom and Dad are already getting suspicious."

"Go away," Hayley groaned, pulling Elijah's jacket around her; she'd been sleeping in the jacket every night since she'd returned home. "Today is a wallow in my pain day."

The sound of the carpeted floors creaking in certain places told Hayley that Jackson was coming closer to her.

"It's been two months, Hayley," Jackson said, sitting down in the chair next to her bed. "You can't stay hooked on him anymore."

Hayley rolled back over quickly and glared up at him. "Don't make me regret telling you about that!" she hissed, pointing her finger at him. "Not to mention that it's not as easy as saying that, Jack! There's more to it than just being hooked on him!" she exclaimed, shaking with anger and intense emotional pain. "Not that any of it matters because my thoughtless actions have completely ruined any possible chances that I may have had with him!" she continued, balling her fists up and pounding them onto the bed next to her. "Also, don't you think that I'd rather be up and moving than laying in bed feeling sorry for myself...over a guy none-the-less! You know I wouldn't be doing this if I honestly wasn't in so much pain right now."

A short silence followed Hayley's mini outburst.

"What are you even doing here right now?" Hayley asked, breaking the silence a little bit later and effectively changing the subject.

"Um..." Jackson trailed off momentarily, looking around the room. "I guess now isn't a good time to remind you that you're getting married tomorrow," he said so quiet that no one without super hearing could've heard him.

Hayley's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" she shrieked. "No!" she yelled, yanking her covers up over her head.

There was no way that this was happening. It couldn't be time for that already. This wasn't fair. She wasn't ready. She would never be ready for this.

"Have you really been that out of it these past few months?" Jackson asked unnecessarily.

Throwing her covers off, Hayley jumped out of bed and damn near knocked Jackson over in the process.

"This isn't what I want!" she exclaimed, rushing around her room to grab a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to throw over her pajamas. "I can't freaking do this!"

"You're the one who asked for this," Jackson reminded her as he stood up.

Hayley spun around to glare a hole through him. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't ask for this!"

"Not the actual marriage itself. I meant the way you're getting married," Jackson restated, backing away from her some. "If you hadn't thrown a huge hissy fit about a traditional wedding, then you'd have already been married in a pack ceremony."

Hayley sighed, running a hand through her knotty hair.

"You're hoping that maybe by some miracle that _he_ would come and object," Jackson guessed.

"I just..." Hayley trailed off. "Yeah, okay. Maybe."

Jackson shook his head, looking at her with pity in his eyes. "I don't mean to say this to be mean, but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you."

"Any hope is better than no hope," Hayley told him solemnly, heading for the door. "Lock up the apartment when you leave."

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

Hayley was sitting at the table that she had dubbed her and Elijah's table, picking at the omelet in front of her. She had been to the cute little restaurant every day since she'd last seen Elijah. It had quickly become her go to place for some peace. After all, it was the last place that she'd truly been happy.

"Weren't you ever taught not to play with your food?" a voice asked, startling Hayley.

Hayley glanced up, her eyes going wide upon seeing the owner of the voice. "Rebekah?" she asked, her voice conveying her shock along with her expression.

Rebekah motioned towards the empty chair across from her. "Mind if I sit?"

Shaking her head, Hayley replied, "It's all yours."

Rebekah nodded and sat down.

"What are you doing here?" Hayley asked, confused and curious by her sudden experience.

Shrugging her shoulders, Rebekah said, "I heard through the grapevine that tomorrow is the big day."

Hayley frowned. "Don't remind me." She growled.

Rebekah ignored her. "I've seen you come in here every day for the past few months," she told Hayley, reaching forward to steal a piece of tomato off of Hayley's omelet.

"Are you stalking me?" Hayley asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Should I play the kidnapped card now?" Rebekah retorted, popping the tomato piece into her mouth.

That shut Hayley up instantly.

"How come you've been here everyday at the exact same time for the past few months?" Rebekah questioned curiously, glancing around the restaurant.

Hayley sighed, picking up her fork and stabbing gently at her food. "This is where Elijah brought me the morning after our first kiss," she told her, smiling briefly at the reminder. "It's the last place and time that I was truly happy."

Rebekah was silent for a bit before she said thoughtfully, "I've got my confirmation."

Looking up, Hayley furrowed her eyebrows as she asked, "Confirmation about what?"

"That something happened between you and Elijah," Rebekah said with a smirk. "Elijah's been moping around these past few months and I figured it had something to do with you, and now I know it for sure."

"Oh," was all that Hayley could think to say.

"And then earlier today, a letter fell out of his pocket and when I picked it up and opened it...it was from you."

His pocket? Had he really carried her letter around all this time?

"Do you love my brother?" Rebekah asked bluntly.

Hayley blinked her eyes frantically a few times. "Huh? What?"

"You heard me," Rebekah said, rolling her eyes. "Do. You. Love. My. Brother?" she asked again, emphasizing all the words.

Without hesitation, Hayley confessed, "Yes, I do."

A small smile appeared on Rebekah's face and was gone again just as quickly.

"This is the first time that I've ever admitted it out loud," Hayley admitted, looking at Rebekah.

"I've gotten my other confirmation as well," Rebekah noted, moving a bit in her chair as if she was doing a small happy dance.

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "Which would be what?"

"That you love my brother as much as you said you did in the letter."

Sighing, Hayley shook her head. "It's not like it matters either way. I'm going to have to keep my love for him to myself for the rest of my life."

"Or maybe not," Rebekah thought out loud.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hayley wondered, confusion etched in her tone.

Rebekah chuckled. "I meant to say that to myself...in my head."

"What do you mean by or maybe not?" Hayley reiterated, leaning forward.

Rebekah sighed before she answered, "As I said before, Elijah has been moping around these past few months. It's so unlike him. He clearly loves you, too."

Hayley opened her mouth to say something, to say anything, but closed it abruptly.

"By "or maybe not" I mean that it's possible that maybe he'll come out of his blah mood by tomorrow in time," Rebekah said, shrugging her shoulders. "Anything's possible. But just to be safe, don't get your hopes up."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "That's the same thing my brother told me earlier."

"Well then he's a good brother to you."

"Eh, most times."

Rebekah chuckled. "At least you only have one brother. Try having four."

Hayley shook her head. "No, but thank you anyways," she replied jokingly. "So um...has Elijah um...has he said anything...you know...about me at all?"

Shaking her head, Rebekah said, "No, he's been keeping to himself for the most part."

"Oh."

"Anytime Freya or I try to talk to him, he'll either leave the room or just stare at us with that intensely uncomfortable look of his until we leave." Rebekah shuddered.

Looking down at her now mutilated omelet, Hayley said quietly, "If only things could have happened differently."

"You'd never have met Elijah," Rebekah pointed out.

"That would suck, but at least neither of us would be acting like pansies who mope around all day," Hayley said, slamming her fists down on the table in a sudden rage. "I will never forgive myself for this."

"Maybe you should," Rebekah told her thoughtfully.

Hayley sighed. "It's too late for that."

Rebekah raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"I'm getting married tomorrow," Hayley whispered, the "m" word making bile rise in her throat. "And with how bad I feel about myself right now...forgiving myself will take longer than one night."

Rebekah's forehead wrinkled in thought. "You're still going through with the wedding that you don't want as a way to punish yourself?" Rebekah guessed correctly.

Hayley nodded, returning to picking at her omelet to keep from looking up at Rebekah. "You're a very perceptive person."

Rebekah stood up, shaking her head at Hayley. "I've forgiven you, so you should forgive yourself, too," Rebekah told her, surprising her. "There are other ways to punish yourself without losing yourself in the process."

Eyes wide, Hayley asked, "Wait, you what?"

"After thousands of years of me doing some not so nice things, I've learned to forgive certain things over time," Rebekah explained. "Nothing too bad happened to me during that time, and I got out in one piece. Therefore, you're forgiven by me."

Hayley couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Standing up, Rebekah gave her one last look as she said, "Now, you just need to forgive and stand up for yourself."

Before Hayley could even think of replying, Rebekah turned and walked out of the restaurant.

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

Much to Hayley's dismay, the next day came way too fast. She'd decided over night that instead of fighting against the marriage, she was just going to let it happen. That was despite the fact that every bone in her body felt like it wanted to rip from underneath her skin and run away.

As Rebekah had correctly guessed the day before, Hayley not fighting and backing out of the wedding was her punishment to herself for her actions towards Rebekah and the Mikaelson's. They weren't the most decent family in the world, and Rebekah may have forgiven her for what she did, but they hadn't deserved for their sister to be taken from them. Hayley would reap what she sowed because that's what she deserved.

She had been on autopilot from the moment she got up in the morning. Her heart wasn't in it, so neither was her head. The last thing she actually remembered happening was her mother zipping up the back of her much too white dress. That is until the moment that the priest asked if there were any objections. Yeah, if only she were actually that lucky.

Just as Hayley had felt the last bit of hope she had fading, she got her wish. Her huge hissy fit for a traditional wedding paid off. Someone in the back shouted the two best words she'd ever heard before in literally her whole life.


	16. As You Wish

 

"I object!"

"What the hell?" Oliver growled, making Hayley aware of his presence for the first time since she had gone into autopilot mode.

"What is _he_ doing here?" she heard her mom ask her dad.

A gasp tore from Hayley's throat when she turned around to find Elijah standing there at the beginning of the aisle. It had happened. Rebekah had been right about Elijah possibly coming back to reality just in time. Luck had finally been on Hayley's side.

"Elijah," she breathed his name like it was a prayer, the only one she knew.

A hint of a smile formed upon his lips. "Hayley."

"You came." Hayley smiled back at him.

"I couldn't let you go through with this," Elijah told her, stepping forward. "I know you're only doing this as a way to punish yourself. You need not do that. We've all forgiven you, and now you need to forgive yourself."

"You've all forgiven me?" Hayley asked, allowing herself to smile briefly.

Elijah nodded. "Yes, we have," he assured her, spreading his arms out. "Now please forgive yourself."

If they all could truly forgive her, then surely she could work on forgiving herself. And that's exactly what she would do. Forgiveness was contagious. At least in this case it was.

"Even Klaus?" Hayley asked, trying her best to keep a straight face.

Elijah chuckled, shaking his head. "Let us not go there."

Hayley shrugged. "You know I had to." She grinned as she made a move to walk away from the altar.

"Andrea Hayley Labonair, don't you dare leave this altar!" her mom exclaimed, her tone undeniably menacing. "You stay right where you are and you finish this wedding."

Without hesitation, Hayley ignored her mother and threw her bouquet of hideous flowers down. Grabbing the sides of her way too long dress, she lifted the bottom of it up and ran towards Elijah. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him as close to her as possible. She instantly relaxed as he wrapped his own arms tightly around her.

"I can't believe you are actually here," Hayley said when she pulled back to look at him. "I love you," she admitted out loud in front of God and everybody.

Elijah smiled a full smile. "I love you, too."

Hayley grinned as she pulled him towards her, kissing him with every thing she had in her.

"This was not the deal!" Hayley's mom exclaimed. "If I had known this was why you threw such a hissy fit for a traditional wedding, I never would've agreed to going through with it."

Hayley sighed, pulling herself away from Elijah and turning to face her mother.

"But you did, and I am forever going to be grateful for that." Hayley smiled. "You may not see this as a good thing, but I certainly do."

Her mother stepped forward just as Hayley turned back towards Elijah. "Hayley..." Her tone was stern.

Hayley braced herself for what would come next. And god were they ever words that would probably haunt Hayley forever. The words that left her mom's mouth felt like a brick being smashed upon Hayley's back.

"If you leave with him, don't you ever come back."

Hayley stopped mid step and turned around to face her mother. As much as it pained her to do this and to hear her mom say what she had said, Hayley knew what had to be done. If Hayley had learned one thing from the entire experience, it was that she needed to live for herself. She could no longer live based on what was expected of her. She was allowed to go off on her own and be herself. No rules, no expectations...just whatever she wanted.

"You don't mean that," Hayley said quietly, trying to keep her voice from breaking.

Her mother hesitated for a moment but then nodded her head. "Yes, I do mean it."

Shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders as if to show defeat, Hayley spoke, "I am sorry you feel that way." She sniffled as she felt tears building up in her eyes. "But I can't live for anyone but myself anymore. I need to do this, for me." She gave her mom a watery smile. "Hopefully one day you'll come to terms with that, and maybe you will even be okay with it and understand why I did what I am doing."

Her mom stood there for some time before shaking her head and turning away from her. Hayley felt her heart break as he mom walked away from her. Sometimes her mom took being the queen of their pack way too seriously. And this was unfortunately one of those times.

Hayley blinked back tears as she turned back around just as her dad walked up to her.

'I'm sorry it ever came to this," he apologized sincerely, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug.

Hayley nodded against his chest. "So am I," she agreed, hugging him back for a short time before she pulled away. "But it has come to this and now..." she trailed off as Elijah came up beside her, placing a comforting hand on the small of her back.

Hayley's dad looked at him, at her, and then back to Elijah. "You take good care of my comet, you hear me," he told him in his stern protective dad tone.

A small smile made its way onto Hayley's lips at her dad's use of his nickname for her.

Elijah nodded his head. "You have my word that I will, sir."

Hayley leaned forward to hug her dad again. "I love you, daddy," she whispered, her voice breaking,

He hugged her back tightly. "I love you, too, comet." He smiled at her when she pulled away again, earning a smile right back. "Now you don't be a stranger."

Scrunching her eyebrows in confusion, Hayley started to speak, "But mom said..."

Her dad shook his head, cutting her off by lifting a hand. "She'll come around," he assured her. "You are her only daughter, after all."

"But not her only child."

Her dad frowned momentarily before assuring her again, "It won't take long for your mom to realize that she's going about this all wrong."

Hayley sighed. "Yeah, we will see," she said as she turned back towards Elijah.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked her, reaching forward to place his hands on her upper arms. "I'll understand if you change your mind."

Hayley didn't even have to think about it.

Shaking her head, she offered him a smile. "I'm sure about this," she told him, leaning forward to press her lips against his. "I want to go with you and be with you."

"And I you," he agreed, turning and putting his arm out so she could link hers with his.

She gladly accepted it. "So I was thinking," Hayley said as she linked arms with him.

"About what?" Elijah asked curiously.

Turning her head to look at him, she grinned. "We are already dressed for the occasion..."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

Hayley shrugged. "Unless you think it's way too soon."

"When you've lived for as long as I have, nothing is too soon."

Hayley's grin grew. "You always know the right things to say."

**~WhenDarknessFalls~**

"I'm not usually the type who gets all bent out of shape over jewelry, but this is gorgeous!" Hayley exclaimed as she still couldn't take her eyes off of her ring. "And it's all mine!"

"I would never be able to guess that you like it," Elijah teased her from the driver's seat.

Hayley turned her head towards him and stuck her tongue out. "Haha, funny."

"I thought it was."

"So I guess this officially makes me family now." Hayley smiled at him. "Never would I have ever in a million years thought I'd one day be married into this family...of all families, this one."

"Life is full of surprises, you know," Elijah said, reaching over to lace his fingers between hers.

Hayley looked at him with a loving smile. "Like falling for you in less than a week, then being apart from you for two months, followed by us getting married within hours of reuniting," Hayley replied, looking down at their hands. "Yes, life is most definitely full of surprises...but good ones."

"Indeed," Elijah agreed, nodding his head. "What do you want to do next?"

Hayley shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

"Well, we have your whole life to spend together," Elijah pointed out. "There's no rush."

Hayley frowned, which Elijah noticed right away.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"That's just it, Elijah." Hayley sighed. "You have all of eternity to live...I only have a lifetime..." she trailed off, turning to look out the window.

Of course her happiness couldn't have gone on for that long. Now she was left trying to figure out the future. She wasn't sure if she would ever truly want to be immortal. But she did know that she didn't ever want to lose or leave Elijah by himself.

She was very much in love with Elijah, that was a given. But was her love for him strong enough to make her want to give up her humanity to be with him forever? She wasn't sure, and that scared her.

Elijah sighed, breaking her out of her confusing thoughts. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Hayley," Elijah told her. "For now let's just enjoy our time together."

Hayley turned to look at him again. She was instantly put at ease upon seeing him smiling at her.

"I love you, Elijah Mikaelson."

"And I you, Hayley Mikaelson."

Hayley laughed. "That's going to take some getting used to," she said, looking down at their interlaced hands again and staring at her diamond ring. "But I like the ring of it already, so I think I'll get used to it pretty quick."

"Is the ring all you care about?"

Hayley shook her head. "I love that ring, but I was talking about the sound of Hayley Mikaelson."

Elijah chuckled. "I know. I was just teasing you."

Hayley playfully slapped him on the arm. "You keep that up and somebody won't be getting any of this tonight."

"Now we can't have that."

"It would be a shame." Hayley grinned. "So what are we going to do now?"

"Whatever you want," Elijah said, throwing the proverbial ball into her court.

Hayley thought about it for a few minutes. "Can we just hit the open road and drive for a while?" she wondered. "Eventually we'll come back and settle down here for a while, but I just want to leave this place for a week or two."

Elijah grinned back at her, picking up their entwined hands. Placing a kiss on the back of her hand, he replied, "As you wish, my love."

Hayley stared down at their entwined hands, grinning from ear to ear.

Although things hadn't gotten off to the best start, as of now she wouldn't change any of it for the world.


End file.
